My Publisher has put out a special deal… For a limited time, Uprising Saga books will be 1/2 off. A 3 book set, or the individual books as you need them.
They make for some fun reading and are good to give to any Zombie Fan.
Uprising 3 Book Saga.
Uprising USA ($8.47)
Uprising UK ($8.47)
Uprising Italia ($8.47)
Two new guns came in that in not handled before. The Ruger 9E and the Beretta Pico.
The Ruger is an impressive pistol for the money. Its so close to the SR9 that In wondering why one would opt for SR9, with it’s hundred dollar premium. The 9E has all the same features and the same trigger. Great gun for the money. This isn’t like a Smith and Wesson SD9, which is a tangibly lesser gun to the M&P. This is just what it looks like… an SR “light” model.
Ruger is doing it right,
The Pico is an interesting little unit. Its not for everyone. It’s a very tiny little pistol. Small in a “Wow” this is small kind of way. Even though it’s unusually small, You can feel that its quality. Its probably the best made little pocket sized 380 out there. The trigger is very good for a DAO type trigger I like it, I could see myself packing one. Deep Concealment use…
with the new . 380 ammunition out there now, my hesitations about the cartridge has lessened.
My only hang up about the Pico is the magazine release. It’s too tiny. Not easily used, But then again, this isn’t one to be doing tactical reloads with. How it stands the test of time will be interesting.
The disappointment was the HK VP9 pistol. I liked everything about it, but one small detail. Imagine a new BMW M5… with a razor blade in the steering wheel. See, in the HK, the trigger guard has a channel on the inside bottom. I’ve not seen or heard anyone else mention that. But it’s there. On the pistols I’ve looked at, these channels have rather sharp edges that my trigger finger seems to find. This causes irritation and distraction when there should be none. HK Acolytes will of course say “I’m doing it wrong.” BMW M5 with Razor wheel – “Oh, your holding the steering wheel wrong.” No… Because it shouldn’t matter how I hold it. It shouldn’t be there. In the HK that channel shouldn’t be there to begin with. So a pistol that could be a 10 out of 10, is only a 8. There are other small things that detract as well… but that’s for another time.
More on these pistols in due time.
Living in SC (South of Charlotte), I’ve noticed an overabundance of Honda Pilots. I can’t prove it, but I have a strong belief that over two thirds of all Honda Pilots sold in the USA are sold in the South of Charlotte area. I’ve sat at intersections where every other vehicle was a Pilot of one color or another. It’s crazy Pilot country here. I think there is some dark Pilot Conspiracy here. Since I’ve noticed this, I think the Pilots know that I know and now there are more of them around during my commutes two and from work. Maybe not – but it seems like it.
It’s not that I have anything against the Pilots. It’s just that there are So many of them here . It’s disturbing. Every area has it’s choice of car…. Never thought a Pilot had an area. Then again, I never thought I’d I’d be living in NASCAR country either.
I don’t know what it is, but some questions have been coming in from multiple folks asking about the viability of a Lever Action Shotgun for Tactical use. This answer is a straight up no. Reason being, is that the Lever Action Shotgun loses the advantage of flexibility that the normal shotguns have, or the ability to top off on the go like a normal lever action rifle. So instead of being the best of both worlds, it’s the worst of both worlds.
Sure, Terminator 2 made it look cool with the firing from a motorcycle and spin cocking it… But that’s about where the cool factor comes to an abrupt end.
The reloading is second to none when it comes to being slow and awkward.
The reliability is questionable in every Winchester and Win-Clone I’ve seen. But even if you had one that ran as reliable as the Sun Rise – it’s still limited with a very short mag tube that you can’t extend, and reloading is about as clumsy as mechanically possible.
Even one as practiced as Master Quinn has a time of running these things.
A Shotgun has it’s advantage in being Situationally Flexible. You take that away from it – it’s handicapped drastically.
A Lever has it’s advantage in being light and easy to handle, narrow in profile, and easy to top off on the go. Take those things away from it, and it’s handicapped.
I see no point in these Lever Action Shotguns other than as a Novelty or a Historic Curio Reproduction.
The use of one in a Tactical Situation would be a mistake unless this was the only weapon you had or that it was a stop gap weapon until you could get to a better weapon.
Granted 12 gauge is devastating and 4 or 5 shots from it is formidable… but this is like planning on using a 2 shot Derringer as a defensive weapon. There are better options out there. In every metric there are better options.
That being said. They are still freaking cool and fun… so outside of the Tactical Use spectrum – they are just fine.
Quick Update – There is a Marlin Lever Action in .410… It was produced for a time, dropped, brought back briefly and dropped again. So examples are out there. They are rare and hard to find. I’ve only seen 2 in person. They are cool and could be viable as a Tactical Lever Action Shotgun. But they are only in .410 and that’s also a handicap. But it’s better than harsh language, so there’s that.
Blackstone Shooting Sports is a new Indoor Shooting Range and Retail location in Charlotte, NC. It’s using the very best range equipment and a new layout for selling guns. It’s going to turn every Gun Shop Stereotype on it’s head.
Check out the website. BlackstoneShooting.com
The name Blackstone has some history to it. It’s named after Sir William Blackstone. Don’t know who he is? Our Founding Fathers did.
Robert Ferguson notes that “all our formative documents – the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Federalist Papers and the seminal decisions of the Supreme Court under John Marshall – were drafted by attorneys steeped in Sir William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England. So much was this the case that the Commentaries rank second only to the Bible as a literary and intellectual influence on the history of American institutions”.
Sir William Blackstone should be studied by our current Government Officials. Blackstone’s influence on the second amendment can not be ignored. Blackstone Shooting Sports aims at being just as influential on the future of the second amendment.
This is why my postings have been rather sparse lately. This is why I moved to the Charlotte area… to be a part of Blackstone.
I don’t have a Vertec… But I do have a Blue Gun of the Beretta Vertec. The weight is completely wrong, but the shape is right on. I like it. In fact, I think I’d really like to get a Vertec. Unfortunately Beretta has long discontinued it.
This was a big mistake. Not as big as discontinuing the 90-Two instead of just re-naming it. Maybe bigger than the killing off the Cheetahs. Word is that Beretta is bringing back the Cheetah. The least of these three sins. Beretta, BRING BACK THE OTHER TWO!
Bring back the 90-TWO. Bring Back The Vertec. Just do it.
The Ruger LC9S: I’ve mentioned this pistol before. Said I’d like to take a look at one. Well, i’ve done that now. I’ve looked. Held. Fired. And my opinion on it is now complete.
I like it.
The trigger is not a great trigger as far as the world of triggers go… But compared to other guns in the LC9’s class, it’s a fantastic trigger. Compared to the old regular LC9’s trigger, this is a godsend. This new trigger changes the gun dramatically. All the sudden this gun is now a very serious weapon. You can hit with it. You can actually aim at your target and have a reasonable expectation of connecting bullet to bullseye. That was not something you could really expect with the old LC9. This new LC9S is what the Glock 42 should have been. This gun is now on THE LIST. I could by this one. And I just might.
The DB FS Nine: I’m not going to say that I don’t like it because it’s terribly ugly. I think it’s disgusting looking… But so is an XDM, but I can live with an XDM. It looks like a kid drew a pistol and Diamondback milled it out of plastic and regret. But I know some of you guys out there are thinking “I like the looks”. That’s good. Good for you. Honey Boo Boo’s Mom has a Boyfriend because of guys like you… Where was I? No… The reason I don’t like DBFSNINE(!&@$T!(@$Y Okay, I hate the name too. For the LOVE of all that is holy – can people please use a shred of creativity when it comes to naming a main product line? You forgot that it’s not just Full Sized – as compared to the DB9, but also Double Stacked… So according to your naming ritual, you should have called it the DB FSDS NINE 9mm… Or add a threaded barrel and it would be the DBFSDSTBNINEOMGIHATEYOUPEOPLE. Come on. It’s like DB went out of their way to make me not like this gun. Okay… The top reason I hate the gun is the trigger pull. And that it makes me go all Louis Black over here. You have a pistol that looks like it could be a good shooter here. Six and a Quarter inches of Sight Radius here. Four and three quarters worth of barrel. And then you give it a trigger like CZ 100 with a sneezing fit. Come on!
Diamondback, clean the gun up, give it a good trigger, and give it better name. Like “F9”. The DB F9. Done. Simple. Clean. I’ll give you credit… At least you didn’t do what FN did with the “Five-seveN”. Gah! That still makes my left eyelid twitch. And don’t even get me started on Beretta’s 90-TWO! I actually had words with the guys at the Beretta booth at SHOT over that wretched mistake. This gun has POTENTIAL…. I’d love to see that potential realized.