Curtis Stone Responds to Our Article on Compensating For Wind

Blogger Curtis Stone from Captain of a Crew of One made some recent comments concerning our recently published article on Reading Wind and Mirage. He mentions the fact that wind will more greatly affect the trajectory of bullets as they continue down range.

One thing they weren't very clear about: Wind effects on bullets over varying distances is not linear because the flight times are not linear.

Due to the drag of the atmosphere through which the bullet is traveling, the velocity of a bullet is constantly decreasing throughout its flight.

Therefore, on a 600 yard shot, the bullet is moving faster during the first 100 yards of travel than during the final 100 yards. Because it takes longer for the bullet to travel that last 100 yards than it does the first, the wind has a longer time to act upon the bullet's path during the final 100 yards.

This is especially true under strong wind conditions.

What that means is you can't just take your 100 yard correction for the prevailing winds and multiply by 6 to get an accurate 600 yard correction.

Curtis is absolutely right. We weren't very clear on this topic in our earlier article, but there is a very good reason we multiply by wind speed and not distance in the examples we use. The effect of a full value wind increases as the bullet slows down. This is part of the reason why it is important to have a chart that calculates the drift at a given distance.

You can multiply by the wind speed, but you can't multiply by the distance. For example, a 5 mph breeze might move a .223 bullet only a half inch at 100 yards. But you cannot multiply that by 6 to get 3 inches at 600 yards. That same 5 mph breeze will blow our little .223 round more than 45 inches at 600 yards. How much of a difference does that make? Curtis breaks it down in his example:

Using the match ammo that I generally prefer: 77gr Sierra Match King HPBT at 2750 fps at the muzzle, the correction for a "full value" 20mph wind at 100 yards is 1.75moa. If I just multiply by six, I get 10.5moa correction at 600 yards. In reality the correction at 600 yards should be 14.5moa. If I just tried to multiply the 100 yard correction by 6, my point of impact at 600 yards would be off by a full 4 minutes of angle or 24". That would take a perfect center "X" hit out to the 6 ring on a standard NRA target. If you were shooting for a bad guy at that range, it would mean a clean miss...unless the bad guy was unusually hefty in which case you might wing him. [Emphasis ours]

The best way to prepare to compensate for wind at varying distances is to have the drift for your load already calculated for various distances (I like to use 50 yard increments) with a 1 mph breeze. In this manner, all you'll need to do is select the appropriate distance, note the drift for a 1mph wind, and multiply by your measured wind speed and value.

This gets more complicated if you have wind breaks or shifting winds. Camp Swift, for example, is notoriously difficult to shoot due to the sometimes inconsistent and shifting winds there. You may have a 5 mph wind blowing one way near the shooting line, and an 8 mph wind blowing the opposite direction near the target. This seems like impossible conditions, but once you realize that it is the wind speed and direction in the final 200 yards leading up to your target that will have the greatest effect on your round, it's not difficult to dial in your wind dope.

We'll have more on this topic later when we address reading wind and mirage during rifle competitions.

Guest Post: Commander Zero on Preparedness, Spreadsheets and PTR-91 Magazines

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Preparedness is all well and good, but without a bit of accounting it can be difficult to know what you have, where you have it, and how old it is. Commander Zero talks about the use of spreadsheets for tracking his inventory of foodstuffs and other preparedness items. Later in this article he discusses the PTR-91 as a main battle rifle (MBR) and the current availability of low cost magazines.

A fortuitous episode while grocery shopping the other day. An item that we normally find for $10 was on sale for $8.89. Ok, not a huge sale price but saving something is better than saving nothing. Problem was, they were out. I went to the customer service coutner and asked for a rain check and for them to order me a case. When the case showed up the other day it was in the midst of another sale and the price had been reduced further to $4.99. Well, half-price is sort of a magic threshold for me…I cleaned out the stock on the shelves and order another three cases. Took our goodies back to the house and added them to the food stockpile. Once thats done it’s time to update the spreadsheets.

I cannot emphasize enough the sheer utility of spreadsheets for keeping track of stuff like this. I use Excel and am fairly good with it. I found this thread over at arfcom about how to have your spreadhseet automatically note when a product is nearing its expiration/best-by date. When we upgraded out phones to Blackberry devices I discovered that the crippleware version of Excel in the BB would read my Excel spreadsheets. Joy! I now keep a copy of the spreadsheet in my cellphone. If we happen to be out shopping and discover something is on sale at a ridiculous price I can pull up a copy of the spreadsheet and see if the quantity we have on hand is sufficient or if we should go ahead and get more. Very useful, that.

The spreadsheets I use for tracking our food arent fancy, they just give a general description, brand, quantity, amount and that sort of info. I keep it on a clipboard with a pen and the clipboard is hanging off the steel shelving by the food. When food is taken (or added) its noted on the spreadsheet and then once a week or so I update the spreadsheet on the computer and cellphone. Once every few months I do an inventory to make sure all the numbers jibe. Usually they do…however, sometimes someone in this household will forget to update the clipboard…usually because their hands are full at the time. By and large, however, the accuracy of the count is never off by more than two or three items. Not bad when you consider theres about two hundred on the clipboard.

As of late I’ve been thinking that I need to expand this spreadsheet/clipboard system to some of the other consumables around here, most notably ammo. I have a reasonably good idea of how much ammo we have but I cannot say with 100% accuracy. Ditto for cosnumable gun stuff like spare parts and magazines. Really, I need to take a long weekend and work up a ‘master spreadsheeet’ with all of this stuff.

=-=-=-=-=-

Speaking of mags, I had a customer who did a very very smart thing the other day. He’s been wanting a .308 battle rifle and I sold him on the PTR-91. He’s been dragging his feet but last week I gave him the hard sell with the same seriousness and somber tone as if I was telling him he had cancer. Look, I said, one of my vendors is having a sale on these things…it’ll cost you $1000. Cheaper Than Dirt still has mags for $1 ea. and spare parts are still abundant. If you dont buy now youre going to regret it later. I know its a pile of money but youve been working ten, twelve hours of overtime every week, right? Buy this. I guarantee you that you will never regret this.

He handed over ten $100 bills and I ordered his gun. I then admonished him to get on the phone to CTD today and order at least fifty magazines. Since the vendor ships the rifles ‘free shipping’, I added ten more Glock magazines for me and the missus. Strike while the iron is hot and all that.

Then, because I know the customer (who is also an LMI and a good friend) had to reach deep for the money for the rifle, I called CTD and ordered twenty magazines for him. I’ll stick them in the closet and if he winds up not being able to come up with the scratch to get some magazines in a timely manner I’ll give these to him as an early Christmas gift. He’s a good guy and I don’t want to see him get caught flat-footed if something goes weird in the world. This way if between the time he gets the rifle and the time he can actually get some mags he’ll at least have twenty mags to keep the gun running.

I really should nag him into some spare parts while Im at it. Hmmmm.

Commander Zero makes his home in Montana with his wife where he is an active member in the preparedness community. You can visit his blog at CommanderZero.com

Guest Post: Commander Zero on Revolvers

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Revolvers often find themselves taking a back set when compared to modern autoloaders. But do revolvers have a place in the gun safe? Commander Zero addresses the role of the modern revolver in his post reproduced here.

Another one of those questions that pops up from time to time – do revolvers have any place in the grand scheme of things.

It’s just my opinion, but in a word: yes.

Right now someone, somewhere is hitting the ‘reply’ button getting ready to tell me how if revolvers are so damn good how come they haven’t been issued as standard military sidearms since WW2? (And, yes, I know revolvers were issued to pilots in Vietnam and other groups since then.) Check that finger, mate. Let’s hash this out a bit.

The suitability of the revolver depends on what you are tasking it with. Parachuting into Magadishu to rescue shot-down pilots? Probably not the best choice. Fly fishing in Montana bear country? Good choice. See how the anticipated use can determine suitability?

Personally, I like revolvers. I usually shoot them better than autos. However, nine times out of ten I carry an auto. I try not to let my personal preferences trump good reasoning.

Revolvers have a lot going against them. If they break, replacement parts usually require the services of a gunsmith whereas most autos (esp. the newer ones) simply require a parts swapout. Firepower, in this case meaning rounds fired without reloading, easily beats the classic six-shooter. Reloads in an auto are, usually, faster than a revolver although some revolvers can be loaded mighty quick with a lot of practice. Revolvers can be a bit more fragile than automatics…anything that hits the cylinder hard enough can spring the frame and damage the bolt. Only lately are we seeing revolvers with accessory rails or night sights as standard items. So, generally, there are some big drawbacks from a logistical and tactical standpoint to revolvers.

What advantages does the revolver have? Generally, the revolvers biggest advantage is based around ammunition. Revolvers can shoot more powerful ammunition with a broader selection of bullets. Revolvers can fire blanks, snakeshot, slow wadcutters, high velocity light bullets, heavy-for-their caliber bullets, or plastic bullets all out of the same loaded cyclinder with no effect on firearm function….something just about any automatic cannot do.

Not to freak out the math-phobic, but lets look at some numbers. We’ll limit our discussion to ‘practical’ guns and calibers. The .454 Casull may be a rhinostomper but most folks aren’t going to carry anything that big. The .50 AE may be awesome in a Desert Eagle but most folks aren’t going to carry one around as a daily gun.

In automatics the most powerful cartridge you can reasonably expect to come across and will fit in your average duty-size gun is the 10mm Auto. Great cartridge. Cartridges Of The World shows a 170 gr. JHP factory load from Norma as generating around 680 ft/lb of energy. That’s pretty darn impressive. On the other hand, the same reference shows the .44 Magnum as generating nothing below that with jacketed factory loads. Or, put another way, every .44 Mag jacketed bullet load listed beats the 10mm.

Not really a fair comparison because both cartridges are, by anyones definition, a bit stompy in terms of recoil. So lets take a step back and go with a little more controllable cartridge choices and look at some numbers. Dinosaurs ‘round the world tout the .45 ACP as a death ray so lets look at the numbers – a +P 185 gr. JHP generates around 534 ft/lb..very impressive. (Anything over 500 ft/lb is pretty darn good) A .357 Magnum 125 gr. JHP beats it by about 50 ft/lb. A niggling difference on the terminal end of things, Im sure.

For personal defense against things with language skills, its an even mix…revolver ballistics or auto ballistics will perform nearly identically for the most common caliber in those two firearms styles. For personal defense against things with claws and teeth, well the revolver has an advantage there in terms of energy that’s pretty hard to argue with.

So we’ve argued that autos are better than revolvers in terms of maintenance (repairs and parts replacement) , and that for personal defense they are about even with proper caliber selection, so that clinches it right? Meh….theres other factors.

A small revolver conceals nicely and can be fired in cramped spaces like a coat pocket. (You can try it but be aware the lining of your coat may catch fire.) Revolvers can be loaded with reduced-charge ammo for new shooters or people who have problems handling more powerful cartridges or cant seem to get past limp-wristing their autos. Looking at revolvers from a post-apocalyptic Mad Max perspective theres some advantages in not having to chase your brass around, be able to cast bullets from scavenged lead, and use homemade black powder if you had to. (Admittedly, a very unlikely scenario but you never know.) Primers, of course, would be a challenge although some folks have had success reloading their own primers with various ‘common household materials.

Succinctly, yes there is a place for the revolver in preparedness. They are excellent for secondary or tertiary levels of redundancy. Police trade-in .38 and .357 revolvers can still be had for less than the price of an automatic and they are less finicky about their cheap reloaded ammo than most autos.

Years ago when I could buy used Smith & Wesson revolvers for less than $200 each I bought as many as I could and tucked them away in the safe. They are the closest thing I have to a ‘disposable’ handgun. While Im loathe to loan out one of the stockpiled Glocks I don’t have a problem loaning out one of the revolvers.

In calibers, I prefer the .357. Its comfortable to shoot, guns are plentiful, the commonality of .38 and .357 ammunition plays into my favor, ballistics are good for my anticipated uses, and the components are cheap and plentiful. Obviously, .38 Special ammo can be shot out of any .357 but not vice versa. Despite this, I still keep a few .38 Special guns on hand mostly for their cheap utility and convenience. Usually any gun you like in .38 is available in .357 also and that would be the way to go in order to preserve the advantage of ammo interchangeability.

My personal recommendation are open to debate, but here’s what I’d go with, in order of preference: Ruger, S&W, Taurus, Colt. I’m actually a Smith & Wesson fan but the Ruger is simply a more robust and durable gun than most revolvers out there. They are the Ak-47 of revolvers in terms of robustness. Their GP100 series and the older Security-, Speed- and Police-Six are good solid guns. When I carry around a .357 I usually carry a Smith Model 28 but if its time to run out the door with a backpack and rifle I’ll take the Ruger. Smith and Wessons are good guns, well made and have a great history. I like them a lot. The nice thing about the Smiths is that they made .357 revolvers on the large .44-frame guns. These guns hold up much better to steady diets of .357 loads than some of the smaller framed guns. But, even then, I still feel like the Ruger is more durable. Taurus makes a great selection of revolvers and theyre quite reasonably priced. Quality is good although once in a while a lemon gets through..however, I hear theyre pretty good on warranty stuff. Taurus probably has the most affordable .38 Specials out there. Colt used to make great revolvers but they’ve fallen so far off the radar in this department that theres almost no point in even considering them. Their older guns used lockwork that was virtually unchanged from the Victorian era and their more modern guns are difficult to find, overpriced and of mixed quality.

Steer clear of things like Llama, RG, Rohm, Astra, and any other company that youre not familiar with. Many of these cheap revolvers are mediocre at best and dangerous at worst. I’ve encountered more than a few that spit lead out the sides of cylinder gap from bad timing. For the price of one of those nightmares you can find a used Smith on GunBroker.

Got the money in hand and have no problem paying once for a gun that will last a lifetime? Here’s your list: Ruger Stainless GP100 (Or an SP101 if you want the snubby), extra front sight inserts, extra set of grips if you prefer Pachmyers, quality holster from Galco, Bianchi or DeSantis, a half dozen speedloaders and pouches (Safariland, HKS), SPeedStrip-type loader, BoreSnake, cleaning kit, as much ammo as you can afford, disassembly manual and you’d pretty much be set to go. If you want to take it to the next level of ‘ready for anything’ get a set of carbide reloading dies, a case of primers (5,000), an 8# keg of powder, a bullet mould and sizer, and a buncha brass.

If youre a fan of the .44 (or .45) cartridges, by all means go with that. Both cartridges are ballistically superior to the .357 and will serve quite nicely. I go with the .357 mostly for logistical reasons regarding ammo availability and expense, but that’s just me. The one caliber I’d shy away from is the .41 Magnum. It’s a great cartridge ballistically but its too much of an oddball for easy feeding. Ammo selection isn’t nearly as broad, and components are not as plentiful as for the .357. 44 and .45.

Commander Zero makes his home in Montana with his wife where he is an active member in the preparedness community. You can visit his blog at CommanderZero.com

Guest Post from Carteach0: Remington 870 built for home defense

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Today’s Guest Blogger is Carteach0. He’s a teacher and, not surprisingly, his well written posts are incredibly informative. He claims that “He’s just this guy,” but we see a well spoken educator with a wealth of knowledge on firearms and reloading. One of his latest posts covers the use of a 12 gauge pump action shotgun as a home defense firearm.

On the list of firearms held as suitable for home defense, the nearly undisputed king is the 12 gauge pump action shotgun. Whether it’s the unmistakable noise of a round being chambered or the (rightly or wrongly) perceived massive stopping power, the big bore shotgun has a respected place in self defense.

In use since the very beginning of firearms, the shotgun rapidly gained a reputation for bringing down it’s target, whether two legged, four legged, or on wing. When ‘rifles’ did not exist and a single ball hitting it’s target was iffy, a handful of pellets fired from a .75” smoothbore usually got the job done. During the 18^th century a coach was often guarded by a man armed with a ‘blunderbuss’, which was nothing more than a short barreled shotgun with the muzzle belled to make loading easier on a bouncing coach seat. From the classic western lawman to today’s patrol car, the shotgun has been a comforting resource to police officers for generations.

The same things that make it suitable for police use make it desirable as a home protection weapon. Heavy firepower over a short range, coupled with an intimidating visual image and ease of operation.

Shotguns can be found in many configurations, but the defensive role is dominated by pump action and semi-automatic 12 gauge guns. Mechanically identical to their hunting brethren, defensive shotguns differ in barrel length, magazine capacity, and sighting hardware.

While a typical hunting shotgun might have twenty eight or thirty inch barrels, this would be too long for easy maneuverability anyplace other than the field. The long barrel that makes easier swinging on a pheasant in flight would prevent effective gun handling in a hallway or small room.For this reason defensive shotguns usually have barrels that are eighteen to twenty inches long.

Hunting shotguns are often limited to three rounds capacity, or maybe five with the ‘plug’ out of the magazine. Defensive shotguns sometimes have a longer magazine tube bringing capacity up to eight or nine rounds. There are even special ‘shorter’ shotgun shells designed to boost the capacity of a shotgun, made just for defensive use. Many shotguns built for home defense also have spare ammunition stored right on the weapon, in special carriers.

While a bird gun might have a ventilated rib with a gold bead at the end, the shorter defensive shotgun more often has a plain barrel with a rifle sight on the end. There is a common misconception that shotguns throw so wide a pattern that aiming is not necessary. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and only a few ‘pointed’ shots at the range will prove this. It’s embarrassing to miss at short range with a shotgun when bowling pins are the target, but it can be disastrous in a home defense situation. Rifle type sights on the shotgun are a helpful aid to aiming accurately.

In this article, a typical 12 gauge pump action shotgun will get a simple conversion to a home defense weapon. In this case, a Remington 870 Express, but any decent quality hunting shotgun can be drafted to house duty with a few changes. While the 870 is worth investing some funds into for a project such as this, it’s possible a decent working 12 gauge can be bought used for well under $200. As long as the basic quality is there, outward finish means nothing. Worn bluing and a scratched stock don’t really matter much in a defensive shotgun. Dependability and usefulness do.

When I was shotgun shopping, the choice was narrowed to the two major suppliers; Remington and Mossberg. I liked the reliability and pricing on both, and a wealth of accessories are available for both. So, what clinched the deal on the Remington? I handled both at the store, and while I was looking over the Mossberg (a turkey gun) the rear sight fell off in my hands. To me, this is not a good sign. If one part I can see is made that cheaply, then what is there I can’t see?

This Remington came to the author as a used hunting shotgun. It’s been carried in the field, and also spent many an evening shooting trap under the lights. The original barrel is twenty eight inches long and is threaded for interchangeable chokes. It has a ventilated rib with a gold bead at the muzzle, and can hold four 2 ¾” shells in its magazine.

As a hunting shotgun it’s dependable and sturdy. Since it’s the cheaper Express model it came with a matte finish and plain wood. That doesn’t affect its usefulness or sturdiness, and it’s still a Remington 870, a shotgun with a long history of service.

As a home defense shotgun, it needed some changes. First and foremost, it must have a shorter barrel. The original was just too long to navigate the hallways and doorways of a house. It’s possible to cut down a shotgun barrel without too much fuss, but there are some factors that must be taken into account. The barrel length cannot legally be made shorter than eighteen inches without an expensive tax stamp issued by the BATFE. Eighteen and a half is usually the shortest a factory barrel comes, and most police shotguns are that length. Citizens have been killed for cutting off that last half inch… don’t risk it.
Once the gun is fitted with a suitably short barrel, what more is required? Many people seem to think any number of gadgets must be bolted, screwed, or Velcroed onto a shotgun before it can be a real defensive weapon. The reality is… simple is better. One need not feel under gunned because their shotgun does not have a vibrating green laser aiming device capable of highlighting the space shuttle in orbit, nor a twenty seven position tactical recoil absorbing stock with optional cup holder. The gun needs to work every time, and with a minimum of fuss.It needs to be maneuverable inside a building. Once that’s achieved, everything else is fluff and something to break or distract. It’s far better to spend the extra cash on ammunition and training time, which is a better investment in self defense.

If the shotgun is one that’s common, then a shorter barrel can usually be found that’s easy to install. Remington sells police length barrels for most of their shotguns, and Mossberg makes defensive barrels for both their guns and the Remington 870. Winchester has ‘Defender’ barrels for the 1300 and 1200 series of shotguns too. For roughly $110 to $150, a new police type barrel can be bought, and installation is a snap.This is usually a better idea than cutting down a premium hunting barrel, unless the shotgun is a cheap used gun with a value little more than the cost of the barrel.

For this build a new Remington police barrel was purchased. It’s a smoothbore with no choke, 18 ½ inches long, and fitted with a bead front sight. The finish is matte to match the Express shotgun it’s going to be mounted on. At $119 out the door, the price was not exorbitant.

Installing the barrel could not be easier. Simply unscrewing the magazine cap is all that’s required, with the action open, and the barrel will pull forward off the shotgun (beware the magazine spring, as it will probably come un-caged with the cap removed). The new barrel is fitted into place and the cap reinstalled. Nothing else needs be done. The original hunting barrel can be cleaned, oiled, and put away for next year’s pheasant season.

While the barrel is being replaced, the magazine spring will likely be removed to get it out of the way. It’s an excellent time to set aside the ‘plug’ that limits the magazine capacity to meet some states hunting regulations. Also, it’s a fine time to install an extended magazine tube if one is desired. For about $45, a machined metal magazine extension can be bought that will give another two, three, or four rounds capacity.

In this build, the added expense was declined, and the original magazine cap reinstalled.

To carry reloads on the shotgun, many companies make ‘side saddle’ shell holders that bolt to the receiver, or even on the butt stock itself.These can hold an additional four to eight rounds in a convenient place for reloading on the move.

In our case, a simple shell holder sleeve was installed on the butt stock. Made by Uncle Mikes, it holds five shotgun shells securely in elastic loops. Since it’s of neoprene construction it tends to stick to the stock, and won’t slide around during movement. That’s important, and worth a few extra dollars. At $12, it’s an inexpensive answer to the issue of carrying extra ammunition.

Whether it’s a side saddle or an elastic shell holder such as this, strong consideration should be given to carrying reloads on the weapon. Even with the longest magazine tube the shotgun will hold only eight or nine rounds at the most. In the event the long gun is used in home defense the user is almost surely going to be under pressure and rushed. Grabbing extra ammo can’t be counted on. The fight will be fought with what’s on the gun. A ready reload mounted on the shotgun is the way to go.

The Remington 870 Express usually comes with swivels already installed for a sling. This is something to be considered. Combat slings in a dozen formats can be had, and our troops use them every day. That said… do we need a sling on a home defense shotgun?

A sling is for carrying a weapon. In a home situation the shotgun will be carried in the hands, not on the shoulder. Unless there is property to be patrolled, or a guard post to be maintained, a sling just isn’t needed. On the other hand, a sling can be a problem when moving through a building. It catches on things, and is a loose grab point for an opponent to use in taking the weapon for themselves.

Sling mounting points are not a bad idea; just for the thin chance a sling would be helpful. In a situation such as hurricane Katrina when long watches might be held over house and home to deter looting, the ability to sling the shotgun could save fatigue.

There are slings which double as bandoleers, holding an extra twenty or thirty shells in elastic loops. While they might appear pretty menacing, accurately firing a weapon with five pounds swinging loosely from it can be difficult. If there is a need to carry that much extra ammunition there are excellent cross shoulder bandoleers available, and they won’t get in the way of using the weapon.

A home defense shotgun does not need to be fancy, just dependable and suited to the job. Once the ‘riot gun’ is put together or bought, one more thing needs to happen and that is practice. Like any other tool, a shotgun won’t use itself. Practice is demanded, just as with any other weapon for self defense. Range time getting used to the recoil, noise, reloading, and aiming of the shotgun is central to its effective use. Even if it’s just a box of shells a month, the practice needs to happen.

Converting this shotgun from faithful hunter to reliable defender cost less than $140. Considering the return on investment, it might be the best way possible to spend money on home security. Its value won’t go down, and in the event it must be used every penny will be well spent.

In upcoming pieces we'll gut some shotgun shells and look closely at what is found, and discover how they perform on various targets. We'll also look at some simple drills for using a shotgun defensively.

How to buy and register a handgun in the District of Columbia: a survival guide

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It's been nearly two years since the US Supreme Court ruled on the Heller case regarding Washington DC laws regulating firearm ownership. Since that time, it has been legal to purchase and own a handgun within the federal district, though the process for obtaining a firearm legally is long and arduous when compared to other state procedures. DC Libertarian Examiner Kris Hammond has an article that details just what must be done to purchase and register a handgun inside the District of Columbia.

Any District of Columbia resident contemplating a handgun purchase in the near future should consider the advice of the lone gun dealer in the District, Charles Sykes.  When asked about the most frequent mistake made by would-be D.C. gun buyers, he said, “They don’t learn about the gun registration process first” before buying a gun.

The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) provides residents with the legal requirements and paperwork, but residents must discover through trial and error the most efficient manner of completing the mandatory regulatory checklist.  The following step-by-step guide to the D.C. gun registration process will fill some of the gaps.

1. Acquire the D.C. MPD “Firearms Registration General Requirements and Study Guide,” Application for Firearms Registration Certificate, and Statement of Eligibility.

Download the Study Guide located on the D.C. MPD website, and carefully read through all of the requirements to register a firearm.  However, the Application for Firearms Registration isn’t downloadable because it’s a triplicate form.  Upon request, the Firearms Registration Section (202-727-4275) will mail the Guide, Application, and Statement of Eligibility to the applicant.  The forms can also be picked up at 300 Indiana Avenue, NW, Room 2169 (located across from Judiciary Square Metro Station).

Sykes also maintains copies of the Application, but be aware that the Application asks for more than an address, phone number, and responses to potentially incriminating questions.  It also requires that the applicant provide all addresses of residence for the last five years (with dates of residence), as well as the applicant’s occupation, employers, and business addresses for the past five years (with dates of employment).

The Statement of Eligibility--wherein applicants are required to affirm under oath whether they have ever been “convicted of a prostitution related offense, being a vagrant, operating a bawdy house [brothel], abrogating strikers, or any felony” (Question Eight)--epitomizes D.C. regulatory minutiae.  Not only is this mysterious Statement not mentioned in the Study Guide, there is no apparent reference to the Statement anywhere on the MPD website.  However, MPD requires applicants to complete the form and have it notarized.  MPD does not, however, offer notary services.  Fortunately, Sykes will notarize the Statement upon request without any additional fee.

2. Attend the Mandatory Gun Safety Class

It’s a good idea to attend the mandatory five-hour (four hours of classroom instruction and one hour of range instruction) gun safety class early in the process, especially if you are a first-time buyer who is uncertain of what gun she wishes to acquire.  Sykes says that the course “gives people a chance to see what firearm they might want and to get advice from the firearm instructor about what gun might work best for them.”  Upon completion of the course, the instructor provides the applicant with a signed Firearms Safety Course Compliance form certifying course completion.

D.C. MPD provides a list of certified firearms instructors in the Guide, but, unhelpfully, instructors’ names and phone numbers are the only contact information provided.  James Wiggins of Sirius, the instructor recently hired by the author, charges substantially less for the course than some other area gun safety instructors.  Although highly-experienced gun owners relocating from Virginia or Texas may struggle to stay awake while watching the instructional videos, novice and intermediate gun owners will find the five-hour class valuable.  Wiggins’s class covered not only critical information concerning the legal thicket surrounding the rules of engagement, but also gun operation, shooting technique, and tactical tips for home defense.

3. Buy a Gun

There are no gun stores within the District of Columbia, and Sykes doesn’t sell guns, he only handles the transfer of firearms.  Handguns can be purchased on a reputable Internet website or any of the area stores (which usually double as gun ranges) in Virginia or Maryland.  Visiting a brick-and-mortar storefront is recommended because the buyer can ask questions of gun experts and test fire handguns on the range.

The seller of a firearm will typically charge approximately $25 for the overnight shipment to Sykes, as required by federal law.

Prior to a final purchase decision, verify that the gun may be registered under D.C. law.  Check the MPD website, which maintains a list of permitted guns.  Thanks to attorney Alan Gura (of District of Columbia v. Heller fame), a broad range of handguns may be registered.  In the wake of Heller Supreme Court case recognizing a constitutional right to bear arms, the District banned semiautomatic handguns and then attempted to sharply limit which handguns were allowed.  D.C. eventually reversed course due to legal pressure from Gura.

Buyers of semiautomatic pistols take note: It is illegal for D.C. gun owners to possess a magazine that holds more than 10 rounds of ammunition.  Many semiautomatics, such as the Beretta 92FS, come standard with a 15-round magazine.  Although difficult to find at local stores, a 10-round magazine may be purchased on the internet for $22 + shipping and handling.

All gun owners with children living in the home should also invest in a gun safe.  The District imposes criminal liability for the negligent storage of firearms.  A gun safe permits the owner to prevent a child from acquiring a firearm while at the same time providing quick access to a firearm in case of emergency.  Gun locks may be difficult to operate under stressful circumstances and may not even thwart the will of a determined child.

4. Meet Charles Sykes

After purchasing the handgun, call Sykes at 301-577-1427.  After Sykes receives the firearm from the seller, schedule a time to meet with Sykes at his sparsely-furnished office (1213 Good Hope Road S.E.) located a 12-minute walk from the Anacostia Metro Station.

Sykes will run a criminal background check and hand you a federal form to complete.  D.C. law requires that applicant and Sykes sign the Firearms Registration Certificate “in the presence of each other.”  Remember to ask Sykes to notarize the Statement of Eligibility.  After this stage of the process is complete, Sykes will request a transfer fee of $125 cash.

5. Obtain Two Passport-Size Photos

Registration applicants must submit two passport-style photos taken within the 30 days prior to the date the application is filed.  If one is traveling on the Green Line from the Anacostia Metro, getting off at the Archives Metro Station will provide easy access to either Penn Camera (840 E Street N.W.) or CVS (435 8th Street N.W.). Both stores are located within walking distance of the Firearms Registration Section a few blocks away.

6. File Your Registration Application, Pay the Fees, Get Fingerprinted, and Take the Test

Navigate the metal detector at the entrance to 300 Indiana Avenue, N.W. and head straight back to the Firearms Registration Section.  The applicant should submit a completed Application form, notarized Statement of Eligibility, two passport photos, and a completed Firearms Safety Course Compliance form.  Thereafter, proceed directly to Room 1140B in the basement, where the cashier will accept cash payment for the application, ballistics test, and fingerprinting/FBI background check fees.

Upon returning to the Firearms Registration Section with a paid receipt, the applicant will be fingerprinted.  The multiple-choice test is not difficult as long as the Study Guide is carefully reviewed beforehand (most people incorrectly answer the question about antique firearms).  The applicant will also complete a form authorizing MPD to perform a background check.

7. Obtain the Approved Firearms Registration Certificate

Following the 10-day waiting period, the approved registration certificate may be picked up by the applicant or MPD will mail the registration certificate upon request.

8. Visit Charles Sykes Again

Travel to Anacostia again and provide Sykes with the approved registration certificate.  Sykes will transfer the firearm to the registered owner.

9. Visit the Firearms Registration Section Again

Newly-registered firearms must be brought to the Firearms Registration Section for a ballistics test.  The Guide suggests that this process takes approximately one hour.

10.  Take the Handgun Home or to the Shooting Range

D.C. law does not permit the possession of a handgun outside the home unless the individual is traveling to a gun range.  Therefore, after the registration process is complete, the handgun must be taken straight home or to a gun range.

Although the District of Columbia government has created the elaborate gun registration process ostensibly to reduce gun violence, Sykes says, “Gun violence isn’t a problem with the people who try to obtain the gun legally.”  The registration process adds substantially to the cost of the firearm.  If a firearm is purchased for $450, the new owner must thereafter contend with the following expenses:

• $22.50 Virginia sales tax


• $25 shipment fee


• $125 gun class fee (may be more depending on the instructor)


• $125 gun dealer transfer fee


• $12 passport photos


• $13 application fee


• $12 ballistics test fee


• $35 fingerprinting / FBI background check fee

The total fees and taxes are $369.50, nearly doubling the actual cost of a $450 firearm to $819.50.

Meanwhile, the process for obtaining a gun in Virginia involves three steps: (1) walk into a store, (2) pay for the gun while submitting to an instant background check, and (3) walk out of the store with the gun, which may be carried outside of a personal residence.  Law-abiding gun owners in the District might well exclaim: “If only it were that easy.”

That's quite a difference from Virginia, or nearly any other state for that matter. Alan Gura and the Second Amendment Foundation are currently pursuing additional litigation to further restore 2nd Amendment rights to Washington DC as well as other localities where private gun ownership is severely limited.

Guest Post: Caleb on Faster Revolver Reloads

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Todays guest post is by Caleb Giddings from Gun Nuts Media. Caleb is the 2009 Indiana State IDPA champion, as well as a Steel Challenge Revolver Division Champion. Caleb replies to a reader email on improving his times in the revolver class in USPSA competitive shooting.

A reader emails: “Caleb, I shoot revolver in USPSA and I’m looking for a way to improve my times.  What should I practice to get faster?”

The one word answer to your question is this: reloading.  Shooting a revolver in USPSA isn’t like anything else, because you’re limited to 6 shots in a world of 8 shot arrays a lot of the time.  To draw a parallel to military aviation, a friend once told me that flying a modern fighter jet meant that when you took off, you were basically out of gas, and when you landed you were REALLY out of gas.  Shooting a revolver in USPSA is a lot like that inasmuch as when the string of fire starts, you need to reload, and by the time you’re done shooting you’ve probably reloaded 437 times for that one stage.

Now, this tip doesn’t apply if you’re not already shooting mostly a-zone hits at speed – if you’re not doing that yet, then focus on accuracy and trigger discipline first.  But if you’ve got the shooting portion of the game pretty well in hand, spending a lot of time focusing on your reloading skills is going to give you a good payoff in improving your times.  Especially focus on reloading on the move with your revolver; if you’re in a USPSA stage and you’re moving and not shooting, you need to be loading.  The goal should be to have the revolver loaded, cylinder closed and ready to shoot by the time you reach your next shooting position.

Again though, don’t practice reloading at the expense of your regular practice.  Rather incorporate static reloads though the use of training drills and moving reloads into your regular practice.  I try to get 10-20 “clean” (no fumbles) reloads into every practice session I do.  A good way to do this is that every time you administratively juice up your gun, load in the manner that you would during a match, focusing on good technique and control.

I’m not saying that you’ll be Jerry Miculek fast, but tuning up your reloads is a sure fire way to make any COF (Course of Fire; Ed.), be it IDPA, USPSA, or ICORE go quite a bit faster.

About our Guest Blogger Caleb makes his home with his wife in Indiana where he is a competitive shooter. Caleb is an active blogger as well as the host of Gun Nuts Radio.

Guest Post: Do you have a plan?

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Todays guest post is by Caleb Giddings from Gun Nuts Media. Caleb is the 2009 Indiana State IDPA champion, as well as a Steel Challenge Revolver Division Champion.

Do you have a self defense plan? If you’re walking with your spouse/significant other and you’re accosted, do you have a plan for what to do? If you don’t, I’ll share my plan with you. It’s pretty simple, and easily adapted to multiple situations. One caveat is that this particular plan assumes I’m with my wife and not out by myself.

• Option 1: we both run away like little girls and call 911 from a safe place.

This is my favorite option. “You always win the fight that never happens”. But what if running away isn’t an option? What if there are multiple attackers and one of them is blocking your retreat?

• Option 2: Disable the guy that’s blocking our retreat, then run away like little girls and call 911 from a safe place.

Any time the situation turns to violence, we’ve reached “undesireable options”. However, sometimes violence is inescapable, so it’s best to have a plan on when and how you plan on resorting to force. Of course, sometimes you can’t retreat at all, which leaves us to option 3.

• Option 3: My wife runs, I buy time.

Needless to say, that’s probably our least favorite option, because it doesn’t leave a whole lot of positive opportunities.

The point of all of this though isn’t so much to talk about my plan though, as it is to help people realize that “having a plan” doesn’t necessarily mean having a detailed, written out “I’ll do X, Y, and Z in the event of a deadly assault’. In fact, I personally prefer to keep my plan a bit more fluid specifically because a dynamic threat is just that – dynamic. Just as no two assaults are the same, your plan needs to be flexible enough to adapt to a situation that may not be exactly what you thought would happen.

If you’re ever in a situation where you need to use your concealed firearm, your day has taken a pretty statistically unlikely turn – better to have some kind of a plan than nothing.

About our Guest Blogger Caleb makes his home with his wife in Indiana where he is a competitive shooter. Caleb is an active blogger as well as the host of Gun Nuts Radio.

Guest Post: Commander Zero on Carbines

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Pistol caliber carbine rifles fill a unique niche. Not nearly as powerful as a rifle, yet definitely more powerful and accurate than handguns chambered in the same caliber. Commander Zero is our featured guest blogger today, and in this post he discusses carbines along with the advantages and disadvantages of having a pistol and carbine chambered for the same cartridge.

Marlin has introduced their .357 levergun in stainless steel. I’m gonna need one of those. While my blued Marlin will last me a lifetime with proper care, I would rather have something for those times when improper care will be the order of the day…snow, mud, water, dirt, blood, and all the other things that a lifetime of bumping around in the outdoors can bring will eventually turn even the best blue job into rust and freckling. Stainless steel isn’t exactly impervious to everything but it’s a better choice in terms of vulnerabilities than blued.
While Im on the subject of .357s, two things I’d very much like to see are a Ruger semiauto carbine in .357, just like their .44; and a ‘convertible’ DA-revolver in 38/357/9mm. Ruger has done convertibles in their single action guns (38-40/10mm, 32 H&R/.32-20, .45 Colt/ACP, 357/9mm, and .22 LR/Mag) and even made a few in their autos (9mm/30 Luger). But a convertible DA would be nice for guys like me that want to hedge their bets on where their ammo is coming from.
I suppose I could always have an extra cylinder made up and mated to a GP100 or something, but it would be nicer if it came from the factory.
I like the .357 guns because of their versatility. Obviously, the biggest attraction is that they’ll shoot the common .38 Special round as well as the .357. Someone might say that since the .44 Magnum will also shoot the .44 Special round, it is equally as versatile and since the .44 Magnum is more powerful it’s a better choice than the .357. Problem with that argument though is that youre supposing that .44 Special ammo is as frequently found as .38 Special, which Im pretty certain is not the case. (And don’t get me wrong, Im a huge fan of the .44 Special.)
In terms of ballistics the .357 has enough power to do what you usually ask a self-defense pistol to do, although on the big furry things with claws it will take a backseat to the .44 Mag. But, thus far, I haven’t run across much that the .357 wouldn’t kill just as dead as long as one was careful with their shooting.
There was a time when I was able to buy police trade-in Smith & Wessons for about $150 each and I picked up a bunch. I figured they’d make excellent pistols for tucking away in nightstands or leaving under the seat of the truck….reliable, relatively cheap, and ultimately disposable. Of course, they also make excellent trading stock and are great candidates for loaning to friends.
I remember reading somewhere about the notion that if you lived somewhere that had a ban on ‘assault weapons’ (or had to visit such a place) a combination like that would be a good one to have in case things took a turn for the apocalyptic. Its an interesting notion but I think its flawed – if the wheels fly off civilization to the point that you need a rifle and pistol I think things have degraded to a point where no one is going to care if the gun youre shooting zombies with is prohibited in that state.
Any discussion like this usually starts up the “Do pistol caliber carbines have any place in your plans” thread. The argument is that pistol caliber carbines (and this includes things like Uzis, Thompson guns, HK94s, Marlin Camp Carbines, etc, etc.) are, by virtue of their pistol calibers, not as powerful as a regular carbine (AK, AR, etc) and since youre carrying a carbine-sized gun why not have it be in a more powerful cartridge? Surely carrying two different kinds of ammo isn’t that much hardship, right? A handful of AK mags and a couple Glock mags are no big deal.
Im not sure how to respond to that. I’m reminded of the reason for the .30 Carbine and current crop of PDWs – for occasions where more firepower is needed than a regular pistol, but a full size carbine is not likely to be needed. As the story goes, the .30 Carbine was developed as a replacement for the handgun in use by troops that normally were not expected to be in combat. For example, document couriers, motorpool, tank mechanics, etc,…anyone who it wasn’t expected would have to do any fighting but just might get caught up in some anyway. No point in the toting around a 10# Garand that they’d almost never use, but if they did get caught they’d need something with more range and firepower than a 1911. So, the M1 Carbine came to be. Sure, it was an anemic cartridge but it wasn’t designed to replace the Garand, it was designed to replace the 1911.
Nowadays though, we have carbines that aren’t much heavier than the M1 Carbine but are considerably more powerful, so is there a need for the pistol caliber carbine? I’m not sure. They’re certainly handy guns…if a guns longevity were determined solely by ballistics the .30-30 would have disappeared about seventy years ago. But because the guns chambered in it were light, handy and well-suited of for the task they have endured and kept .30-3o around when it should have been relegated to the section of Cartridges Of The World pertaining to obsolete cartridges.
Pistol caliber carbines are, by and large, cheaper to shoot, cheaper to reload for, have less penetration (if that sort of thing is a concern), have less recoil, and in the case of semiautos can put out much more lead in a shorter time with more accuracy than a comparable handgun would. Other than that, there don’t seem to ba many advantages.
One advantage, though, is that a pistol caliber carbine is far easier to suppress than a more powerful carbine. And a suppressed carbine will be steadier to aim and probably a little more accurate at range than a suppressed handgun. I’ve often thought of having the end of my Marlin threaded for a suppressor and shooting 200 gr. .38 Specials out of it. Subsonic but still enough weight to make an impression.
So, I guess Im not sure if pistol-caliber carbines have a place. I still like my little Marlin, and I’d like very much to pick up an Uzi somewhere. But as to whether they offer any real advantage over an AK or AR carbine, Im not sure.

Commander Zero makes his home in Montana with his wife where he is an active member in the preparedness community. You can visit his blog at CommanderZero.com

Guest Post- Don't Bring a Knife to a Hot Coffee Fight

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Today's guest post is by Caleb Giddings from Gun Nuts Media. Caleb is the 2009 Indiana State IDPA champion, as well as a Steel Challenge Revolver Division Champion.

Saturday, a criminal made a critical error in his victim selection process when he targeted Caleb. I'll let Caleb tell the tale from here.

It’s not exactly easy for me to come up with a humorous way to segue into this post as is my normal routine for dealing with serious topics. So I guess I’ll just go with the old “damn the torpedos, full speed ahead approach”.

The short version of the story is that on Saturday leaving my office, I was the subject of an attempted mugging by a member of the Indianapolis Choir Boy School of Good Men Who are Only Down on Their Luck. As I was leaving my office, said altar boy came around the corner of my building to the left into the side parking lot, and as I turned to face him noticed the knife in his right hand. The Chaplain’s Assistant demanded that we engage in an abbreviated barter process, wherein I would provide my wallet and car keys in exchange for not getting shanktified, which to him probably seemed like a reasonable exchange.

I politely demurred by hurling a cup of hot Starbucks at him while fishing my Beretta Jetfire out of the stupid pocket holster it was riding in. After taking a face full of Columbia’s most popular legal export and confronted with a counter offer of bullets to his previous barter exchange concept, the young gentlemen decided that discretion was the better part of valor and made all due haste in a westerly direction. For my part, I locked myself in my office, called 911 and waited for the cops to arrive to take my report.

Now, while I did write out the AAR slightly tongue-in-cheek, what happened to me is a deadly serious thing. I was mugged in broad daylight, not 20 yards from the parking lot of a semi-popular video store. Two days later, I can look back on this after talking it over with some cop friends and other self-defense types and gather two important take-away lessons that I’ll be remembering for quite some time:

1. Awareness is king. Because I heard/saw the guy as he came around the corner, I was not caught completely flat-footed when my world went abruptly pear-shaped.


2. Action > reaction > passivity. My wife asked me later “why did you throw your coffee at him?” My only reply, and which remains my reply is “seemed like the thing to do at the time” – but from a 10,000 foot view, tossing my coffee had major impact on the encounter which was to switch the initiative from my would be attacker to me. By throwing my coffee, I was forcing him to react to my actions instead the other way around, which gave me the opportunity to retrieve a better weapon than a cup of coffee.

The moral of the story for me anyway is twofold: keep your head up. While you can’t be in condition orange or yellow or whatever all the time, there are certain times when it behooves you to keep your head on a swivel. Secondly, as pdb is fond of saying, “carry your f***ing guns, people!” It’s impossible for me to know what would have happened had any number of variables gone differently, but one that I’m glad I didn’t have to worry about was “what if I only had that cup of coffee and didn’t have my Beretta with me?” On Saturday, a .25 in my pocket beat hell out of the 9mm I left sitting on my desk at home.

We're all glad to hear that Caleb came through the encounter OK. Of course his readers had a lot of well wishes, and more than a few questions, which Caleb was gracious enough to entertain.

Thank you everyone for the outpouring of support in the comments of the post about my caffeinated self-defense encounter. I am truly and genuinely touched by your support and encouragement.

In the comments, there have been a lot of good, reasonable questions asked, and I want to do my best to answer those questions here where everyone can see them. Most of the questions have centered around the same general topics, so hopefully by hitting the broad strokes I’ll be able to answer the big questions. Here goes!

• Why a .25 ACP and not something bigger? The Beretta Jetfire (my everyday carry gun) has been riding in my pocket for a year and a half now. It goes everywhere I go as long as it’s legal to carry a gun. It’s light, doesn’t take up a lot of weight, and most importantly I can shoot it very well. Which is why I don’t carry a Kel-Tec .32 or a Ruger LCP in .380 – the triggers on those guns are horrid and mushy, and I just don’t shoot them as well as I shoot the .25. Out of a 2 inch barrel, we’re not exactly talking “hammer of Thor” ballistics for any of those rounds, so I’d rather carry the gun that I can get lead on target fastest.


• What kind of pocket holster do you use? - A very basic Blackhawk nylon pocket holster. It’s been in my pocket as long as the Jetfire. I use a pocket holster for the .25 primarily because it keeps the gun oriented correctly in the pocket, with the butt of the gun facing up like it should.


• Do you practice with it? – Most certainly. I shoot the Jetfire once or twice a month, but my usual practice with the gun is dry fire practice coming from the holster. In practice I usually hit about 2.00-2.5 seconds on the draw with my hands starting outside of the pocket. I would imagine that was about where I was on Saturday for my draw time as well; it just felt ridiculously slow due to the effects of adrenaline dump and time dilation.


• What about the coffee? - It was in a standard Starbucks cup with the lid on. I did hit him with the coffee, and I assume the lid came off when the cup hit him. I don’t know this for a fact, but can infer it from the fact that after the event, the cup and the lid were both on the ground in seperate locations.


• What did you see? – Well, to be honest I don’t remember seeing all that much. It’s sort of like my memory is a slide show: I remember seeing the knife, then I remember seeing my gun in the middle of the “A” in Indiana (yes, he was wearing a Hoosiers’ sweatshirt, that I remember) and the next thing I remember is him running.


• Why didn’t you shoot? That’s the most complicated question, and it’s something I’ve been mulling over myself. My previous experiences with situations like this have primarily been in uniform, so as a civilian there’s a different calculation going on. Based on input from others and prior experiences, the best guess as to why I didn’t shoot is that I perceived my assailant dropping his weapon and turning to flee, even though I don’t remember seeing it or hearing the weapon hit the deck. That perception was enough to halt the “SQUEEZE TRIGGER” impulse.


• How long did it take? I have no idea. Best guess from start to finish is 5, maybe 10 seconds. It certainly felt like an enternity.


• Will you be switching carry methods? – No, I plan on sticking with the Jetfire. Did I wish for a bigger gun in an easier to access holster? Yes, but not until after the event. But since I can’t carry a bigger gun in an easier to access holster at the office, the Jetfire will continue to ride shotgun.

I hope I’ve been able to answer the burning questions about this – again, I am tremendously touched by the flood of comments and emails offering support. As readers go, you guys are really a great bunch, and I’m proud that the firearms community is so willing to offer support and reinforcement. You guys are great, seriously.

We're very happy that Caleb made it through this ordeal unscathed. Caleb credits his situational awareness, the fact that he had a gun, as well as his regular practice for keeping him safe through the event.

About our Guest Blogger Caleb makes his home with his wife in Indiana where he is a competitive shooter. Caleb is an active blogger as well as the host of Gun Nuts Radio.

Guest Post: Aiming or Point Shooting?

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Today our featured guest Blogger is Mr. Completely. He is an accomplished Steel Challenge competitor, and he recently wrote a very good piece discussing Aiming vs. Point shooting.

There has been some discussion over the last month about point shooting or using the sights when shooting a handgun. The discussion has been mostly along the lines of should you use one, or the other, or one method sometimes, and something different at other times. I should mention up front that I am not a highly trained and paid firearms instructor, and I have never been mistaken for Todd Jarrett, Max Michel, or Dave Sevigny at a match, nor is that likely ever to happen. I do shoot a lot though, and I've spent a lot of time over the last few years watching the pros shoot, trying to figure out what they do and how they manage to do it so quickly.

One of the first things I noticed is that most of the top shooters have excellent eye sight. There's not too much you can do about that if your eye sight sucks though, except correct things as best you can.

Another thing I've noticed is that the pros don't miss very often in matches, and when they do, their pickup shot is almost instantaneous. That tells me they are using their sights, since they can tell their misses, "Call their shots", at the time they pull the trigger, rather than waiting to hear or see the result of their shot. It's just about impossible to do that without some sort of a sight picture to go by.

But if they are using their sights, how do they manage to shoot so quickly? I don't know for sure, and I suspect some of them may not know for sure either, but here's what I think they are doing. It's actually fairly simple to describe, but actually doing it is another story entirely. To make it work, it takes tens of thousands of rounds of practice every season. First, they are ignoring the sights completely leading up to the shot, as they can get on, or very close to on target by point shooting, or more accurately, "Point Aiming".

Here's the part that separates the pros from the rest of us. Just before taking the shot, they verify their aim with an instantaneous sight picture to ascertain that they are where they think they are, and if they are not, adjust until the sight picture is proper, then fire the shot. Since tempo is a significant part of speed shooting, holding the shot for that fraction of a second is really hard. Your body says "Shoot Now!" and your instantaneous sight picture says "Don't Shoot Yet!". For most of us the "Shoot Now" usually wins, and we miss the shot! That's where practice comes in, and learning to look for that instantaneous "Sight Picture Verification", and more importantly, learning not to ignore it and shoot anyway.

One of the things I like about true Steel Challenge competition is that each stage, or target layout, has something in it that challenges one specific aspect of fast and accurate shooting. Smoke & Hope, specifically challenges you to not forget to use your sights for that sight picture verification. There are four large plates close in, two on the left and two on the right. The stop plate is much smaller, and much farther away. A good point shooter can hit the first four quickly, but will often miss the stop plate since he will fail to switch back to using the sights for the last shot. Shooting that way also requires two sighting techniques, and changing from one to the other after the fourth plate.

On the other hand, using the point aim/quick verify/shoot method allows you to use the same technique for all five shots. With practice, LOTS of practice, the instantaneous verification can be as fast as straight point shooting on a stage like Smoke & Hope, as all you are looking for is to see that there's some "White" on the other side of your sights!

As I've said in previous posts, though, 95% or more of successful handgun shooting boils down to trigger control. A While back I was watching a shooter shooting with a Crimson Trace laser sight. I could see the laser dot on the plate just before the shot was fired, but his shots would often miss the plate. In pulling the trigger he was pulling the gun off the target. Without good trigger control it doesn't matter what other techniques you use. The top shooters all have incredible trigger control, and winning or losing boils down to the remaining elements.

The next time you see one of the pros running Smoke & Hope in sub two seconds and making it look easy, remember you are watching someone who has practiced that specific stage thousands and thousands of times. Not just shot it thousands of times, but "Practiced" it thousands of times. There IS a difference between just shooting and practicing, and that's a good topic for some other time!

Mr. Completely makes his home on Whidbey Island in Northwest Washington with his wife and fellow blogger, KeeWee. He organizes the annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous in Reno, Nevada, and also runs regular e-postal matches coordinated with other bloggers.

Guest Post- FerFal: The World is NOT going to End

Today we feature blogger Fernando “FerFal” Aguirre from the blog Surviving Argentina who writes some more on The End Of The World As We Know It (TEOTWAWKI). Preparing for catastrophe is all well and good, but Fer Fal agrees with Commander Zero: The world isn't just going to quickly devolve into some post-apocalyptic landscape populated by zombies and a few survivalists. Here's what he has to say:

Just so we are on the same page here, and given the new surge (once again) of fatalist doom and gloom: The World is NOT going to end.

Even if the US Economy crashes, the world is NOT going to end.
Even if there are eventually riots and uprisings because of the growing poverty, no, the world is NOT going to end.
Even if terrorists manage to detonate a nuke on US soil, the world is NOT going to end. Nukes have blown up cities in much weaker countries before and they survived, the United States will do so as well.
Why am I saying this? Because doom worshiping just isn’t helpful. It isn’t. It just disconnects you from the world around you and creates a distorted version of reality.

There’s enough bad news around to get us all worried. This blog itself, by the nature of the issues covered, revolves around current bad news and how to deal with them, the essential thing being, working on the solution, not getting absorbed by the problem. USA is heading for some rough times, it’s already going through them, and it’s just the beginning. Things will change, not Obama “change” but another kind that no a single person will like. But the end of the world? No people, I don’t think so. Anything can happen. I mean, no one holds the crystal ball of divination. A meteor can blow us to pieces or a genetically boosted biological weapon may kill us all. It’s all within the real of possibility. And then Britney Spears may one day go to med school, be good at it, and find the cure for cancer, but I doubt many of you will hold your breath on that one.

Empires have fallen. Terrible things have happened but the world has not ended. You have Katrina, 9/11 and there are a thousand other events through out history that have been much worse. Learn from history folks, learn from previous events and come to your own conclusions.

There are people who have been anticipating (promising?) the end of the world since the 60’s. Every decade or every couple of years there’s a new excuse, some new reason why the end of the world is just around the corner. USA is heading for some rough times and people will adapt. They wont have a choice. Preparing for it will make such a process less painful, less of a surprise. But you don’t need all that negativity, you don’t need to run to the hills and hide in a hole fearing the boogieman.
Life will just go and those that fall for the doom and gloom will have a miserable existence while those that keep a positive attitude will have rich, enjoyable lives.
When things are ok, you can afford to have a few affairs with depression and “the end of the world” mentality. But during hard times you can’t. When you lose your job and have to put food on the table and pay the bills, when you go looking for a job to do so and spend months getting up and going to job interviews, waiting in line along with 50 other candidates for jobs people didn’t even bother with before, you need all the positive mindset you can muster.

Doomers will find out how little fun all this is. Bills keep coming, food prices keep going up, the dentist and pediatrician still doesn’t accept a pair of handmade boots as a form of payment, and well, Raiders never showed up, you never managed to make a living by scavenging the ruins of Walmart, or providing protection to a merchant caravan. It’s life as its always been, only worse regarding some aspects. Tougher and less forgiving… especially less forgiving regarding wrong decisions, buying stuff that was supposed to be worth “its weight in gold” but never turned out to be. Even less forgiving would be moving to that spot on the map that is just perfect according to the fallout charts and is the least likely sport for Martians to land on… but which lacks job opportunities, and most of the small towns near by will just go bankrupt and die during long term recession.

There are going to be changes. Not changes that fit your desires but realistic changes, changes that wont fit you like a glove. Changes that aren’t fair, because you wont get away with what you thought you would… after the end of the world. These will be realistic changes: You might even say they are changes you can believe in.

Fernando "FerFAL" Aguirre

About the Author - Fernando “Fer-Fal” Aguirre is the author of The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse (available for purchase at Lulu.com) and is a professional blogger at Surviving in Argentina.

Guest Post: Commander Zero on Preparedness and the "Blood In The Streets Scenario"

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In recent months we've seen a surge in people preparing for... something. Preparedness is all fine and good, but what are we preparing for? Many talk about "blood in the streets" and the need to stock up on ammunition and firearm components, but how likely is that scenario?

Commander Zero of the Notes From The Bunker blog wrote recently about this and more, and is our guest blogger this week. Here's his take.

I finally got back my copy of “One Second After” the other day, but not before lack of new reading material got me thumbing through a copy of “Lucifer’s Hammer”. (And if theres a difference between the last two thirds of both of those books, I cant see it.) Books like that make a person wonder what the end of the world will actually look like. I’m probably the most optimistic survivalist you’ll ever meet. Of course, at the same time I hedge my bets. Someone was saying to me the other day that they were talking to someone who firmly and passionately believed that, by Crom, it was all going to come to a head by December and there’d be blood in the streets. Who knows? We all have beliefs that other people may think are ludicrous but make perfect sense to us. Space aliens, global warming, religion, conspiracy theories, etc, etc….you name it and someone somewhere believes in it with the same conviction they have that the sun will come up tomorrow. (Although, to be sure, there’s probably a few folks around who will happily take money against that.)

Do I really, genuinely, honestly believe that there will be some huge Bosnia-esque civil war with armband-wearing factions running around with stolen military weaponry leading a great revolution against [insert nefarious cause/organization/person here]? No, I do not. I would sooner believe that a comet will hit the Pacific Ocean and wipe out California than believe that you would get a coast-to-coast widescale shooting war in this country. Why? Well, for one thing, by and large, most Americans are simply too lazy. We have our houses, our cars, our mortgages and our jobs…to risk all that you would have to genuinely believe that not only is your cause a righteous one but that it’s a winnable one. While there are certainly plenty of people who probably do believe they could foment a successful armed revolution in this country I think its extremely unlikely that there are enough of them to amount to anything bigger than a Shay’s Rebellion type of scenario. Armed uprising? In all states? With tens of thousands of armed citizens willing to throw away everything they’ve worked for in their lives and face the rest of their lives in jail if they don’t succeed? Nope…not seeing it. (Because, unlike Shays Rebellion, there ain't gonna be any amnesty.)

Sure, there are plenty of people in this community with sig lines that say things like “vote from the rooftops” or “Soap box, ballot box, cartridge box…in that order” and other pithy bumper sticker slogans. And some of them may mean it quite seriously. But are there enough people who genuinely believe that to pick up a rifle, kiss the wife goodbye, march off to wherever, and join some partisan army of thousands who think the same way? I doubt it very much. It’s happened in other countries, to be sure, but the motivation…the catalyst…for those incidents was much more pronounced than whatever affront we currently feel we are being forced to face. Quite simply, things are not bad enough to really make huge numbers of people want to sacrifice everything they have in their life at this point and in that manner.

Keep in mind, though, I'm talking about a nationwide type of insurrection (or revolution or civil war or whatever you want to call it). On a local, smaller level…well, that’s a completely different story. Smaller venue, smaller forces. Still awfully unlikely though. And there’s still the usual race/class riots but, again, that’s usually quite localized.

No, I think that when the big event(s) take place it’ll be something, anything, other than some enormous citizen uprising that tries to ‘restore’ or ‘replace’ the current government. Earthquakes, hurricanes, riots, depression, hamthrax, economic collapse, terrorist nukes, etc. all seem far more likely than some sort of replay of the Revolutionary War. As an aside, it is interesting to note that while we think of the American revolution as something that swept up everyone in a united cause against the British the facts are that while there were Loyalists and there were those wanting independence there were far, far more who simply just wanted to live their lives, which were already difficult enough, without buying more trouble. I suspect that’s quite true today.

Where do I sit on that? Well, I’m all for ‘reforming’ or changing a few faces in the .gov and there are plenty of ways to do that that don’t involve marshalling an army. It’s a lot easier to put together $100k for opposition campaigning and a good smear job than it is to put together $100k for munitions and remote operating bases. Heck, we’ve just seen that a guy with a radio show can get people punted out of national-level positions…that’s a lot easier than convincing 500 people to run off into the woods and sacrifice their lives for a cause they cant be certain they’ll win. At this point, I’d say that money and media will change government faster and more effectively than any armed insurrection will.

So will it all come to a head by December as this fella opined? Maybe, but not in the form of revolution or armed uprising. Maybe in December the bottom will fall out of the stock market and we will enter a depression, maybe we all get hamthrax and die, maybe an earthquake turns Nevada into oceanfront property. What I will guarantee will not happen is a parade of armed citizenry marching down the boulevards banging drums and waving banners urging people to enlist and ‘take back’ their country by force.

I think by December you're just going to see more of the same of whats going on right now…political shenanigans, economic gloom, unemployment and blame games.

Commander Zero makes his home in Montana with his wife where he is an active member in the preparedness community. You can visit his blog at CommanderZero.com

The Glock 30 in .45acp, A Review and Comparison

Today's Guest Blogger is Carteach0. He's a teacher and, not surprisingly, his well written posts are incredibly informative. He claims that "He's just this guy," but we see a well spoken educator with a wealth of knowledge on firearms and reloading. Here, we present his review of the Glock 30 subcompact pistol chambered in .45ACP

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Here in Carteach0 land, carry pistols have varied little over the years. In fact, they amount to three choices, depending on various factors. A Colt Combat Commander in .45acp, a Taurus model 85 snubby in .38 special, and a Smith + Wesson M+P 9c compact 9mm. 95% of the time the M+P won the draw, and was in my holster as I left the house.

The M+P has features I approve of in a carry pistol. Ease of operation tops the list, as it has no external safeties to deal with. The only controls that need be learned are the trigger, the magazine release, and the slide release. The M+P is also as reliable as any autoloader, and better than most. It gobbles up just about any ammunition, both factory and hand loads, and shoots them straight. It’s an accurate pistol… very accurate considering its size.

One builder glaringly missing from the CCW list is Glock, a pistol chosen by a great many people as their carry and duty weapon. A lot of folks swear by the Glock, speaking of unending dependability and ease of service. A few people swear at the Glock, calling it a plastic brick, and giving it the nickname ‘The Block’.

For most of my shooting life I fell squarely in the second group. The Glock series of pistols felt odd in my hand, and didn’t point instinctively. When I was young, my friends did a group buy on model 17’s, way back when they first came out. I opted out of the buy… and stuck with my old Colt. I still have the Colt, but their Glocks were sold or traded long ago. It wasn’t that I had anything against the Glock pistols…. they just felt wrong to my hand, and rather toy like.

Perhaps it was the years of experience with the S+W M+P, but the last time I looked at a cabinet full of Glocks, I didn’t turn away. Asking to handle a few of them, I found the new ‘SF’ models have a redesigned frame, and suddenly the Glock didn’t feel quite so ‘wrong’. Looking further, I encountered the Glock Model 30. It’s a compact CCW or backup pistol with a double stack magazine holding ten rounds of…. Oh My! The one true caliber! My old favorite, the beloved .45 acp.

Comparing the Mdl 30 to the M+P 9c on my belt, I found them to be akin in size. The Glock is slightly stockier, and slightly thicker, but only just barely. For man with big hands, as I have, the chunkier grip is welcome. The M+P 9c holds 13 rounds of 9x19mm, while the Glock 30 holds 11 rounds of .45acp (ten in the magazine and one in the pipe). Both come with decent sights, and both are available with night sights. Crimson Trace makes lasers for both as well.



The triggers are also comparable, with a slight nod to the M+P in crispness. Still, the new model Glock has a decent trigger, and is quite controllable in let off.

Both pistols have a minimum of external controls. The M+P has a take down lever on the left side, while the Glock uses the miniscule tabs on both sides of the frame. Other than that, they offer the same manual of arms. Immediately noted was the firmness of the magazine release on the Glock, as compared to the S+W. The M+P compact has had issues with magazine drops due to the design of the magazine catch. Clearly that is not an issue for the Glock, as it takes a firm gesture to release the magazine. It does not feel like it could happen accidentally.



Speaking of magazines… the M+P uses a steel magazine with a plastic base, while the Glock uses an all plastic magazine with a steel inner liner. The M+P magazine is easy to load, but the Glock…. is not. The tenth round going into the Glock magazine can be a real struggle. On the other hand, the Glock 30 feeds that ammunition as surely as night follows day, so the spring tension must work out just fine.

Shooting on the range, I found the M+P to be a pleasure as always. Easy to shoot well, accurate, and almost eager to put the bullet right where the shooter intends. The Glock, on the other hand, turned out to be a real surprise to this old skeptic. I had expected fair accuracy, and fair shootability considering it’s a small sized pistol firing a fairly large bullet. What I found instead was astounding accuracy, rivaling the Colt Commander. The Glock 30 also manages to absorb the recoil pulse in such a way as to make repeat shots relatively easy. All in all, a very pleasant surprise was dished up by the little Glock.

I managed to try two brands of factory ammunition in the Glock, and six different hand loads. It cycled all without a hitch. Even rather warm hand loads pushing Berries plated bullets turned out to be accurate, and that was a real surprise as well. The Glock uses polygonal rifling, and the company states categorically that only jacketed bullets are to be used. The Berries bullet is plated soft lead, and there was some doubt as whether they’d shoot in the Glock. Not only did they shoot well, but the bore looked pristine after fifty rounds of the snappy hand load.

In a blatant attempt to force a misfeed, I even shot a few dozen rounds loaded with the old Speer 200 grain hollow point. Dubbed ‘The Flying Ashtray’, these bullets had the largest



hollow point ever seen in a factory bullet. No longer available, Speer now sells the excellent line of ‘Gold Dot’ bullets instead.

The Glock digested the Speer ashtrays, and as if to sneer right back at me, spit the old style bullets into its tightest group yet. The bullet holes clumped together in a cluster just half the apparent width of the front sight from the fifty foot bench I was leaning on.

In roughly two hundred rounds of testing, the Glock 30 did not suffer one feeding or functional glitch. This was new from the box, as Glock delivers their pistols properly lubed and ready to go. I did nothing more than run a dry patch through the bore.

The Glock 30 is not without its detractors. Some owners of the SF (short frame) model have run into a problem with the slide rubbing on the trigger bar. I intentionally did not clean this example through several range sessions in order to let evidence accumulate. On stripping the pistol down, I did see a tiny shiny spot on the trigger bar where some have described it. It’s very slight indeed, and I doubt will be a problem so bad that a little polishing won’t cure it.

Cleaning is fairly easy with the Glock, and take down requires no tools. It does require brains, and a careful attention to detail. It's not that the procedure is complicated, but that it requires pulling the trigger to release the striker. Obviously, if this done with a round in the chamber bad things may happen. Not the least of which is embarrassment, and someone could easily be injured or killed. The answer? Just be smarter than a rock, and check to be sure the weapon is not loaded!


In holsters, a Dun Hume designed for the Glock is on order, but in the meantime I found it fits perfectly in the Galco JAK slide I used for both my M+P and my Commander. The pistol carries well, and does not drag down the belt at all. The chubby little spare magazine easily drops into a pocket, giving a total of twenty one rounds on hand. This compares well to the twenty five the M+P 9c offered, with a spare magazine. Given that it’s twenty one rounds of proven bad guy stopping .45acp…. that’s comforting indeed.

Regarding the subject of caliber and carry weapons, I refuse to enter the debate. My own thoughts are quite simple…. Any weapon is better than no weapon, any hit is better than any miss, and bigger bullets are always better. But… there is that old adage… “A 9mm might expand to .45, but a .45 will never shrink to 9mm”. I will say that the .45acp is one caliber that I don’t feel under-gunned with when carrying full metal jacket round nose slugs. Even these low tech bullets have a good stopping history in the .45acp.

To wrap the story up… the Glock 30 feels decent, shoots very straight, and if it lives up to the tradition of Glock dependability, it will join my list of regular carry pistols.