Tag Archives: Pistols

Weapons

Half way through Beretta Month.

4 Comments

Let’s see… We’re at the half way point.
What are my impressions?

I’m well pleased with the Beretta.  The Size and Weight, I was expecting to become a problem.  The gun is heavier than anything else I’ve carried these last few years and it does pull my belt down on one side a bit.  But then again, I’ve also lost a lot of poundage and the belt is looser than it as ever been.   I prefer to use Pancake style OWB holsters for comfort, and this probably helps a great deal.  But do to the overall size of the Beretta, I have found that it can print depending on what I am wearing… namely a loose fitting Under Armor Polo if I lean forward or bend down to pick something up.  Other than that, the gun stays well hidden and doesn’t cause any problems.   The length of the barrel, being that full length fighting gun, does mean that the holster can at times Peakaboo out from under a jacket or shirt tail or sweater.  But since this is fall, if I’m not working, I favor nice baggy hoodies anyways so this is no problem.

I still love the Full Size feel and the confidence this gun radiates.  The accuracy is great and I can hit very well with it.  I’ve changed the thick rubber grips off of it for OEM polymer grips, which may seem like a downgrade, but they fit my hand so much better, so it’s a plus for me.  I am liking the Beretta more and more as time goes on.  I am not ready to give up on my Glocks any time soon… but the Beretta is indeed going to be a regular gun in the carry rotation from now on.  I intend to use this in more active roles now.  I should have used it at the MAG-40 class, where I am confident that I could have scored my 300 instead of the 298.

The downsides to the 92FS as a Daily Carry Gun.  A.  It’s size.  It IS just a very large handgun and if this was the peak of summer, packing it concealed would be more of a problem as I can’t wear Hoodies.  Packing it Open Carry, like I can do around here easily, does attract a few eyeballs, but no one has said anything.  It’s more overt than my smaller, less interesting Glocks.  B.  I wish the 92FS’s used a Dovetailed front sight post.  While this pistol does have Night Sights, being a former LEO weapon, I would have loved the chance to tap in a different front sight post, such as a Mepro or a Big Dot.

So to sum this up, I’m giving it an 8 out of 10 at this point.

Weapons

Seriously Fugly

13 Comments

The Springfield XD pistols.  Just horrid looking.  Oh, they are indeed good guns… but the are hard to look at.  The M’s are better looking, but not by a huge amount.  Like the West Virginian Cousin of an Okie.
Springfield really needs to just drop the XD line and lower the price of the XDM’s.  The M is all around the better pistol in every caliber and size.

Weapons

The Caracal

21 Comments


It’s kind of like a cross between a Walther P99 and a Steyr M series. But the Caracal is better than both. I like it. A lot. I loved shooting it at the MAG-40 class, as Zak from Lone Wolf was kind enough to let me shoot it.
I’ve been thinking about thinking about the Caracal a lot since then. I want one.

Military, Weapons

100,000 More Beretta M9’s for the Army

44 Comments

Beretta has announced that the US Army is set for the M9 for another 5 years and has ordered another hundred thousand M9 handguns.

So there you go… No new Army handgun for some time to come.  Sorry guys.

Of course, the M9 isn’t all that bad, when running off of good Beretta made magazines.  It’s full sized frame makes it controllable, confidence inspiring, and it’s both accurate and reliable… again, when running off factory mags and not after market.    Of course, my problem isn’t the gun, but the chosen caliber.  Maybe we can get an upgrade kit and make them all .40’s at least?  No?  Oh well.  The 9mm has done a good job with what it’s had to deal with.  The problem though is that the US Military has to use FMJ ammunition, where as we can run good JHP’s if we like.  If the Military could use some good old Hollow Points, then I think the complaints about stopping power would diminish greatly.

If not HP’s, then how about EFMJ’s?  Expanding Full Metal Jackets.  They look like regular Ball ammo but expand on impact.

Continue reading 100,000 More Beretta M9’s for the Army →

Weapons

The 200 Dollar Rescue Glock Project is now completed.

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You guys may remember how I rescued an old abused Glock. It cost me 200 bucks, which is about 50 bucks more than a Hi Point and a Box of Ammo.
Well, if you don’t remember, I was working at the gun store one day when a fellow brought in a ragged old Glock that was just beat to hell. We gave him far too much for it on Trade In. The thing was so bad, it wouldn’t be able to be resold. In fact, it didn’t even function. The Trigger wouldn’t reset. The slide… well, the dude tried to polish off all the Black and make it shiny. He failed. The frame looked like a Pit Bull’s Chew Toy.
So I filled out the 4473, purchased it from the store and took it home.  It was mine.
The trigger needed new parts.  I had a small collection of such parts.  Some aftermarket, some Factory Glock.  I replaced everything in the trigger mechanism.  The result was more than satisfactory.  I like it a great deal.  After test firing, I was satisfied in the gun’s function.  But I hated to look at it.  Since I couldn’t hurt it anymore than it had already suffered, I modded it.

This was what it looked like when I got it.   Nasty.   I cut down the frame from 22 length to 23 length, then I ground off bits and sanded bits and then stippled it. It now feels nothing like a Glock in the hand, and it fits my hand perfectly.
This weekend at Crusader HQ, I took that slide and gave it a fine Media Blast to remove all the problems, old finish, and to rough up the slide so the Cerakote could stick to it better. I took my time on this and really made sure I got everything nice and even.
Then Joe hit it with some Cerakote in a new color I really dig… “Magpul Flat Dark Earth”. This is a darker flat dark earth or Coyote Tan color than is the norm. Looks really good.

The completed gun, better view.

The gun feels better in the hand than it looks.  Feels slightly smaller, grippier, and comfortable.  This Glock is becoming a personal favorite.  I really like the results.  If I pick up another model 23, I might chop it down to 27 length.  Just for fun.

Weapons

Glock 21 .45

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A lot of guys have discovered the Glock 21.  Glock’s full sized .45 pistol.  Even Guns magazine has a gushing article about it.

Yeah, it’s a great gun.  But why have that, when you can have the model 20 in 10mm and have something amazing?

10mm > .45 Auto.  Always.

Weapons

SIG’s P938

2 Comments

Last Saturday Headshot Willy brought out one of the new SIG P938 pistols.  I’ve posted about it before… how cool I thought they were.

Well, at the Range, I was finally able to try my hand with it.  The gun shoots as good as it looks.  It was accurate and the recoil was plenty mild enough in 9mm.  Very controllable.

My target was a small melon sized rock on a berm.  6 out of 6 hits.  Plenty good enough for defensive use, and to convince me that one of these days I’ll have to own one of these pistols now.

Weapons

10mm Handguns for Defense.

46 Comments

Some guys are tired of the 9 vs 45 debate… and they don’t want Middle of the Road.  They are looking at the 10mm.  I’ve been getting a lot of emails about the 10mm.  Which 10 you can get.  My answer is simple, but to get there is a winding road.

So you say you are shopping for that 10mm pistol.  You start looking at the 1911’s of course, because the 1911 is like the Harley Davidson of the Gun World.  Wilson Combat and Nighthawk Custom, as well as other high end 1911 Builders are all doing a few of them.  They are all very nice indeed… and expensive. You really want to invest in one like that and throw it in a combat holster and roll in some gravel with it?  We’re looking for a defensive gun here.  And if you are not willing to roll around in the gravel with your super expensive custom built piece of artwork on your side… then you are not looking for a 1911.  Your really not.  If you choose one of these, and you are willing, then great.  10mm 1911’s do tend to be a bit more reliable, and accuracy is great, and you can get that first shot off nice and precisely.  But let’s say you don’t want to drop 2 Grand on this pistol.  We have to look elsewhere.  You want that feel of a solid steel gun.  Feels good doesn’t it?  Oh yeah.

So you look at the EAA Witness pistols.  Classic CZ design.  Double stacked so you have a good capacity. Their “Wonderfinish” looks good.  The gun feels good.  But dang, it’s heavy.   Accuracy is pretty good, but that long Double Action pull is not as great as it should be.  The Witness has some sharp edges here and there… and yeah… that weight issues is just too much for daily all day carry.  Let’s keep looking.

S&W is making a cool revolver in 10mm.  One of the Nightguard series.  Old School Cool, now in 10mm.  And you can shoot .40 cal as well.  How cool is that?  But you have to use Moon Clips.  Moon Clips are a PITA.  I don’t really care for them and you shouldn’t either. Besides, this Nightguard would be cooler in .44, wouldn’t it?

That leaves the Glocks.  You have two options.  20 and 29.  The 20 is the full sized and the 29 is called a Sub Compact.  Either one is great and either one you can theoretically get with the “SF” frame.  The Slim Frame.  But they are hard to find.  In the .45, you can find SF’s but the 10mm’s are tough.  My choice is the 20.  Full sized, accurate, controllable, great capacity… There you go.  Now we are talking about something.
But I don’t like the Glock Trigger, you say.  Okay.  So change it.  You can put in a trigger that feels just like how you want it.  Easy to do. Have it your way, just like Burger King.  But the gun feels blocky, you say.  You can alter the grip frame as well.  It’s plastic.  It’s pretty easy if you take your time.  But it’s ugly.  Do you really care what your Parachute looks like?  It’s a weapon.  One that if you use in a defensive situation, you might not ever see again anyway.  The Glock is the perfect fit for the job.  Don’t cry about the Grip Angle.  You get used to it pretty quickly if you decide you want to.

The main problem with the 10mm Cartridge is not the Cartridge its self.  Its not that the ammo is more expensive than others… Because its not… It’s what, 2 bucks more than .45 Auto?  The problem is that it’s been a Commercial Meh.  Why is that?  Too powerful?  I find it just like .45 Auto… it’s not too much. The FBI dropped it, not because it’s too gun for their Accountants, Lawyers and sundry beancounters… It was because there was too much of the gun for them to get their hands around.  The 1006 was a gun made for Non-Human hands.  It didn’t fit all those little girly hands, so they were not able to shoot it very well.
What the 10mm needs is for the gun makers to put out the guns that people are already buying, and give them the 10mm Option for it.  M&P, XDM, and the Storm are three of the most popular guns out there as far as our local sales go… and none are offered in the 10.  This is the 10’s main issue in a nutshell… There are no 10mm options in the guns people are wanting to buy.

Guns that SHOULD be available in 10mm.

1.  S&W M&P.  In Full, Tactical, and Compact sizes.
2.  SIG P220.  In both Full and Compact.
3.  Springfield XDM.  In the Full, Tactical and Compact.
4.   CZ 97B.  The new style with the Decocker.
5.  HK45.  They have two sizes and neither are 10mm.
6.  FNH FNP Tactical.  This would turn a 10mm pistol into an offensive platform.

Weapons

Another happy moment

10 Comments

Check this out guys.  In the last pistol class, we had a young lady attend who trained as hard as she could running a Walther that didn’t want to run.  She did her everloving best and got through the course.  Today, Dad got her a nice present… a new SIG.  Niki was so excited she was giggling constantly and doing that “Pee-Pee Dance”.  The genuine delight was wonderful, radiant, and infectious… she had other customers grinning too.

When she comes back for the next pistol class... She'll be ready!

Nothing better than a New Gun!  That’s some awesome Pro-Level parenting, Dad.  Good job!