Gun Nuts

In the last segment of the Rule One Gun Roundup, I talked a bit about the Ruger LCP and what I found to be it’s strengths and weaknesses. The LCP’s incredible market success thankfully prompted other makers to get in on the sub-compact market. Glock is the most recent entry into the market with their first (at least in my opinion, anyway) truly subcompact pistol…the Glock 42. Glock does actually manufacture another pistol chambered in .380 ACP, but it’s the same size as a Glock 26 and because of that it doesn’t have enough “points” to be imported into the United States according to the BATFE’s interpretation of the 1968 Gun Control Act. It’s probably worth noting here that a number of compact pistols made over the years like the real Walther PPK can’t be imported into the United States because of the ridiculous “sporting purposes” clause of the GCA that regulates import. Domestic manufacture, on the other hand, is wide open. This is one reason why most manufacturers have established manufacturing facilities here in the United States.

This week the journal of the Aurora, Colorado killer was released to the press and excerpts of the testimony at his trial have hit the news. Last week there was a debate about certain aspects of open carry legislation in Texas that also made national news. These two seemingly unrelated stories had a common element, though, that the media isn’t going to talk about…death sentences. I’ll explain.

The Hornady Zombie 3-Gun Pandemic match is not one to miss, I don’t care how experienced you are at shooting. It’s a perfect set up for amateurs and a FUN set up for pros. Explosive targets, full auto, soda can gun… Have I convinced you yet? What about a costume contest? Will that help?

A while back I wrote about the rise of the Rule One Gun at the 2014 SHOT show. I thought it was mainly a phenomenon I would be sitting out because while I occasionally had call for a Rule One Gun (rule 1 of a gunfight: Have. A. Gun.) due to circumstances I’d still be carrying a “real” pistol the vast majority of the time. I noticed the other day that despite this, I had somehow accumulated multiple Rule One Guns since writing that post due to changing circumstances in life. I encountered problems and the most practical solution to these issues given all the factors involved was a Rule One Gun.

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I was chided the other day for not mentioning Anita Mackiewicz in my post. The truth is, I knew she was doing well, I didn’t realize how well she was doing. Anita did a lot more than take home the Ladies’ Championship at this year’s Bianchi Cup. In my mind, she’s changed how women at the Bianchi Cup need to approach winning, because one of these years, one of the upcoming years, they’re going to start cleaning it – and then next thing you know the Ladies’ Championship and the Overall Championship won’t be so different. That’s what I want to see.

I’m all excited about this because Anita posted a score of 1916. Out of 1920. 1916-166X. She came in 7th overall. That’s tremendous, it’s exciting. We were all rooting hard for her to clean the match, but there’s always next year. No pressure, right? (Sorry, Anita.)

To put it in perspective, second place Ladies’ Champion and former Junior Champion Tiffany Piper shot an 1899, coming in 34th overall. Third place Ladies’ Championship and multiple-time Ladies Champion Jessie Duff shot a 1897 and came in 37th overall.

Yesterday was better – a lot better. The sun was shining, it was absolutely beautiful out. And I made all my shooting times. And there were definitely holes in all my targets. It was a good day.

There’s really only one word for Day 1 of Bianchi Cup 2015: Miserable. I love this match, but sometimes Missouri is downright cruel. It was cold and rainy yesterday – Columbia saw a high of only 55 degrees. When you come out to this match expecting sunshine, being faced with pouring rain and 50-degree weather is a little disheartening. Of course, that may just be me, I had an impressively bad day. I got lost on the way to the range, missed my shooting time, and shot my worst Plates score on record, hitting only 17 plates. The rain also made it difficult to get good photos, Becky Yackley and I were both struggling with focus and lens issues throughout the day. Fortunately, Michael Voigt spared me some hand warmers, and that was the best part of my day. (Okay, it got better in the evening when I left the range).

Life inevitably includes pain, but much of the pain human beings experience in life is self-inflicted. As a species, human beings have a remarkable tendency to do things that are incredibly stupid because we are often quite terrible at considering the potential consequences of our current course of action. Texting while driving is a good example. I have watched people piloting a 2.5 ton missile at 80 miles per hour weaving all over the interstate and placing themselves as well as dozens of other people in mortal peril because they cannot bear to let a friggin’ text go unread and unanswered for a few damn minutes. I don’t think these people are mentally deficient. They are just people. People have a bad habit of becoming frighteningly casual with dangerous situations if those dangerous situations have not produced consequences for them. The habitual texter behind the wheel has done this particular activity dozens, hundreds, possibly even thousands of times without having a crash. That experience will trump whatever rational understanding of the dangers they may have because those dangers are abstract. Theoretical. It doesn’t become real to them until they actually experience the consequences of that behavior…and by then it is too late.

It’s the first day of Bianchi Cup! I have some work to do this morning, but will shortly be headed out to the

Over the weekend, a friend of mine announced that he is working on a non-violent first person shooter app designed to utilize the math and mental skills required for long-distance marksmanship.

Probably the most common question I encounter from folks interested in getting a pistol for self defense is “What gun should I buy?” It’s not a bad question, certainly, but there’s really no single answer to that question. It’s complicated…but the “what gun should I buy?” question is child’s play compared to the next most common question: What do I need to know? 

What does it say that I’ve always wanted a P239, but I’ve never bought one? I didn’t want one that bad? There was no story to go with it? I don’t know. It’s always in the back of my mind though. An all-metal single stack 9mm with a DA/SA trigger is a bit of a departure from my regularly preferred plastic fantastics, but I’ve always had a soft spot for this.

Do you have a gun you want but have never gone out of your way to add to the collection?

Looking for more on the GLOCK 43? Check out my original review of the pistol in GunUp the Magazine.

WILTON, CT (May 7, 2015) – Media Lodge is excited to announce that ConcealedNation.org, the largest website in the firearms industry focused on concealed carry, has joined the Media Lodge Publishing Network with a deep partnership through 2018.

On Friday, Caleb had scheduled a post regarding the press check. He simply posed a question, and in true bloggy nature all of you answered with varying degrees of opinions and several insults. As you are all now stuck with me as primary content creator on Gun Nuts while Caleb is on a leave of absence for a couple months (a vast upgrade, I agree) I figured I would throw my opinion in with the bunch.

The “Keeper” holster with the included foam blocks and my pet Wilson CQB.

Editor’s note: today’s guest post is by Cecil Burch, renowned martial artist and self-defense instructor. You’ll see his posts appearing here on Gun Nuts from time to time.

I was busy on the range most of the weekend. Saturday evening after returning home after a long, sunburned day I find out that a free speech event had been attacked by two AK-wielding islamists intent on murdering everyone there. It was just a couple of weeks ago that I was in a class with Greg Ellifritz and William Aprill that covered the possibility of active shooters and suicide bombers…and some people invariably questioned the validity of covering that material in an open enrollment course. Is it possible to look at what happened in Texas…or Oklahoma, or Boston, or New York, or…and still believe that the course content has no application for the average Joe/Jane?