BBQ
Mike Kupari’s “Her Brother’s Keeper”
Mike’s new book, “Her Brother’s Keeper” is a fantastic mix of old school sci-fi and modern genre-blending. I was highly enjoyable. I used an Audible credit to get the “Book on Tape”… having forgotten I had ordered the paper version. So now my boys are reading it – and they too are enjoying it. Get this book. It’s an excellent Sci-Fi. You will love it too.
The gun is of course my Ruger GP100 Match Champion. The Blade is… some Benchmade push dagger… I forget which. The patch, was Mike’s “Team Duchess” patch. It’s one of my favorites.
Ruger SP101 GunPron
The Ruger SP101, .357 Magnum, 3″ Barrel. Equal parts sophistication and malice. Astute and Brutal.
This one isn’t mine. Mine, is just like it, but it’s loaded and on my hip while I took the photos of this one. Those are my rounds though.
I love Speed Strips. So much easier to carry than Speed Loaders.
We discussed revolvers on ArmedAmericanRadio.com Daily Defense Hour. Packing a .357 Magnum is a luxury… an obscene display of power and glory, in a subtle little package of satin stainless malice.
Beretta 92FS change?
I love shooting my Beretta. I just do. But I’ve had a “Wake up” moment about it. Let me explain…
I’ve never had a problem with the safety. In fact, I rather like the safety mechanism as I consider it to be one of the safest safeties in the industry. Now, when I carry my Beretta, my routine is to safe the gun, holster, and then flick it off safe. This allows the first trigger pull to be unhindered. More like a SIG. I like that.
Friday the 30th, I participated in PointBlankRange.com’s Zombie Shoot. It was a blast! However in one stage, at two different points, I ran into some thorns. From the first position of 3, you fire your string and safe your weapon and move to the second position to engage. So I hit the safety, scooted to pos-2, and tried to engage. Trigger was nothing but slack. Two pulls, “Oh”, *flick*, bang bang bang… And then it happened again, exactly the same going into pos-3.
This was all me. I recognize and own this. It was not the gun – it was me. Normally, the safety never “gets me” because I almost never keep it engaged. I just don’t. But because I did – broke from my routine – it got me. twice in a row. And I really really don’t like that.
Also, I’d normally have run my 1911… I just don’t run the Beretta enough. Again – this is all me and my Ogreish habits. How I do things. And I was tasked to do things outside of my operating procedures – and evidently I don’t do that well. I’m not making excuses here, I’m recognizing my malfunctions.
I think it’s time to look at doing “The G-Mod” on my Beretta. Converting my 92 FS to a 92 G. This changes the safety mechanism to a De-Cock Only. So the lever will automatically spring back to the Fire Position. This is evidently something that is so much of an issue for enough folks that Beretta even HAS a G model.
So now the question that I must ask myself… and only I can answer this for me. Is do I get the G-Mod done, or do I train on this safety more so I don’t have those stumbles again?
Hillary Clinton’s Testimony
Because I was in traffic much of the day that Hillary Clinton was testifying before the Benghazi Hearings… I was able to hear much of it. First off, to give credit where credit is due – Hillary Clinton answered those questions impressively well. She delivered her message clearly and strongly. She’s a MASTERFUL politician.
And that’s why she is so utterly dangerous. She was smooth and almost effortless in how she lied and misdirected. It was an impressive performance. I came away with a couple of things. 1. Hillary is very good at what she does. 2. There is no way on Earth I could trust her… not even telling the time of day.
Listening to the Talking Heads dissect her testimony has been almost as entertaining… they act so proud that they caught her in lies. If they had listened to the questions and how Hillary either didn’t actually answer the question and misdirected, or just outright lied… they would have been able to instantly tell that she was completely full of it. Her lips were moving.
SIG on my Mind
I really wish SIG had an M-11 Legion edition. I’ve been thinking about SIG’s more and more lately. I sold a P229R the other day and it’s just reminded more and more how much I enjoyed shooting my 229R and how much of a mistake it was selling it.
I admit to be very smitten with the M-11 pistol (P228) and that itch to get one is getting very… itchy. The new 229 pistols and the M-11 are the same pistol, the M-11 just doesn’t have the frame rails.
The enhancements on the new Legion series – I really dig. And quite frankly, I need. I love the color of the finish, and grips are just cool. The extra checkering, yes, I’m a fan of it. But most importantly is the big bright front sight post.
I need that.
Any SIG 22X pistol (Any SIG model that starts with 22) is a Shooter’s Pistol. They are exceptionally accurate and reliable, hammer fired and made of metal, the way I like it. The double action pull on most any SIG 22X is very good. Not too heavy, not too long for DA’s. It’s good. But what’s even better is the SA pull. In Single Action mode -maybe I’m just used to them – the trigger is divine. And the stability of any of the SIG 22X guns is incredible. They handle the recoil, with no drama. Sure, there’s a bit more muzzle rise during recoil than say a Glock thanks to bore axis… But the SIG’s come back on target perfectly. And no matter what trigger package I put in a Glock, I can get better accuracy out of the SIG’s.
And I like the fact that the hammer is set up in the Rebounding configuration so manual safeties are not a bother. You don’t need them. Just take your finger off the trigger and/or decock… the weapon is perfectly safe. It’s probably the only semi-auto pistol that I’d feel perfectly comfortable packing Appendix. I trust the SIG safety more than any other semi-auto pistol out there. I just do.
There’s a thing there… that word. Trust. I trust SIG. I trust several gun brands… but SIG is probably at the very top of that list.
Magpul’s Shotgun Stock on a Mossy 500
Mossberg’s model 500 shotgun is a very simple little beast. The one I picked up was rather lacking in that it was a Pistol Grip Only shotgun. I was going to do something else with it, but decided to sandbag that and go a different round. So I needed a stock for it. After some consideration I decided to give the Magpul stock a shot, and I am really glad I did. I almost always throw on a Butler Creek folding stock, but wanting “different” this time really paid off.
The location of the safety switch on the Mossy shotguns is on top and at the rear of the receiver. Which makes it’s position perfect for this stock. It’s awesome if shot from either shoulder. If you have a Mossberg – this is the stock you need.
The grip angle looks exaggerated, but actually feels very comfortable, and the length of pull is adjustable by adding or removing the spacers. It comes with no spacers in, making it too short for me. So adding 2 puts it just right. For me. You might be different.
Musk’s next move
I was just reading the latest issue of Road and Track. Last story was that Tesla is having a bit of a crisis.
Well no kidding. Gas is 2 bucks a gallon and Tesla cars are hella-expensive. I looked at one and it was the same price as our house in Utah. While the cars are gorgeous, they are not that gorgeous and they hold curious design elements. The car isn’t an air-breather like a traditional car. So why does it have a traditional grill? Why? AC and cooling of components can be fed air from other areas. It doesn’t need a huge intake like a Ford Fusion. That’s one of the problems with the Tesla design… It’s a good looking car, but it looks like a regular car. It needs to look more like something from the future… something from space. Instead it looks like something from only 2 years ahead.
Here’s the thing. Tesla’s marketing is all about the Elegance and Style, and the touching of the Future Tech. When it needs to stop touching the future and get on about absolutely molesting it. It needs to be all about the Performance. Because the Tesla S while a high performance beast – is one freaking heavy barge. Instead of looking at the Ford Explorer as the model to save the company… it needs to look at another model…
Take all that E-Tech… and put it into a car like a Miata. For two reasons. First, there’s nothing on the road that competes with the Miata. There’s nothing in it’s class. A small, light, 2 seat roadster for under 30 Grand? Name one that’s in production. Available in the USA, smartass. There’s nothing else in it’s class.
The second reason? Let me tell you something. I was leaving work and pulled out into the street behind one of the most impressive cars I’d ever want to own. A Porsche 911 S4 Turbo. I was taken by how small the car is if you take away those hips. Now, the 911 has a back seat. As long as the passengers have no legs. And are children. Children with no legs. Actually, it’s best to just use the back seat to carry your back pack or day pack… small book bag. Or a wallet. Beautiful car. Just gorgeous. But it’s not for the Family Guy. It’s for the Selfish Elitist? No… I wouldn’t say that… I’d say it’s for the automotive enthusiast. The serious Car Guy. And those guys will pay whatever the price it is to get that serious car.
Now, the Tesla S has the potential to be a serious car… but it’s not. It’s too bloody heavy. Sure it handles well, but it handles heavy. It’s pulling too much Car. It’s trying to stop too much car. It’s trying to turn too much car. There’s just too much car. Yes, there’s a lot of weight in batteries – we all know that. Batteries are heavy. But the Teslas also have a lot of weight in regular car stuff that doesn’t have to be there. Take out all the drive components and other things required for the S to be a functional vehicle. What you have left over needs to be minimized.
To do that, there needs to be a new model… The “Tesla R” perhaps. Look at that Mazda Miata and DO THAT.
Forget the 15 inch touch screen inside. The serious Car Guy doesn’t need that. Take the super plush seats out. Throw in some Recaros or a type of seat similar to a Recaro that costs less. Take away everything that the Serious Car Guy doesn’t need. Take away everything that makes it expensive. Strip it down to the bare essence of what makes a pure sports car. It should be less than 40 Grand.
Tesla – You do that. You will sell everything you can crank out.
CZ Scorpion EVO 3
Having a chance to play with a number of these new SMG type pistols… I keep coming back to the Scorpion.
It’s a simple firearm. A good looking firearm. And one that feels good and runs better. It’s not perfect… but it’s close. There are some things I’d change about it. Such as that grip. And I’d make the rail sections removable on the sides. But really those are just Nit-Pick items. The gun is solid. The gun is good to go. It begs to be SBR’d and if you want an EVO, just factor in that 200 dollar tax stamp. Because you are going to want it. 
It’s just cool looking. It looks like a modern SMG, and not a 1950’s hold over. It looks like something that would make the head honchos at HK slam fists into tables. I need one of these. The next gun I’m going to get is probably going to be a KSG… But after the KSG, it’s going to be an EVO 3. 
The ergos on the CZ are not as nice as the SIG MPX, but are very good for an SMG if you are used to SMG’s. The HK Slap works well here, and is a welcome feature. As is the mag release.
I know a lot of guys are digging the Kriss or the SIG… and both are great. Both have strong reasons to consider them. The SIG because of the familiarity. If you can run an AR – you can run an MPX. The Kriss, as weird as it is – and it is really weird – is running common Glock 21 magazines. That’s an advantage. But the CZ, for me, just nails it… Hitting all the points I want in this type of firearm. And it’s the least expensive of the three.
XD MOD.2 SERVICE
The XD MOD.2 Service. A new XD I could actually own.
This is the best rework of the XD series Springfield has. I like this better than the XDM. The new MOD.2 is shaped right. It fills the hand without being too large and is just grippy enough to be be grippy without being abrasive. The regular XD’s and XDM’s feel slick in my hands… .and for that reason I just don’t take to them. 
Had this been the design back before I got my Glock 23 – I think I could have been very likely to have selected one of these. Now look at the Slide and Frame contours… You know what? The XD isn’t ugly anymore. It’s grown into quite the handsome figure. I like the slide serrations. They did a great job.
There’s just one problem.
“GRIP ZONE”? Seriously? Where’s the “SLIDE ZONE” markings? Captain Obvious needs to stay out of the Design Room at Springfield and maybe take a holiday to eastern Syria. GRIP ZONE… Who approved that? Who did that? Who is responsible for GRIP ZONE? If you know who that guy is… Mark his face with a Sharpie “SLAP ZONE”. Please.
Other than that… Home Run, Springfield. Home Run! I’ll be waiting for and 3.8 Compact Mod.2 in the XDM series… But this is tempting. as it is. Very well done, Springfield… Bravo!
