Massad Ayoob's Blog, page 92

BACK TO WORK

Just finished our first class of 2017. Good to be back in the saddle.  Thanks to ace instructor John Murphy who hosted us in Springfield, VA.

As a rule, the evil princess and I take off from teaching from mid-December to first week in February.  It’s not a vacation – we use the time to get caught up on writing, podcasting, accounting, etc., and to squeak in a few shooting matches if we can.  More of a sabbatical than a vacation.

Always good to get back to teaching, though.  When I was a kid, I figured teaching must be one of the worst jobs imaginable: teaching the same thing over and over again to people who didn’t really want to learn it.

There’s teaching, though, and there’s teaching.  In the kind of adult ed I do (http://massadayoobgroup.com) nobody’s there to get a ticket punched: the students are there because they WANT to learn, and that makes all the difference.  It’s why I love doing what I do.

I know a lot of you reading this teach something to somebody sometimes.  Share here what you like about it…and what you don’t.

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NATIONAL CONCEALED CARRY RECIPROCITY

Of all the legislation we advocates for gun owners civil rights are expecting from the new administration, long-hoped for national reciprocity for concealed carry is in my view the most important.  There are too many jurisdictions where residents can’t get permits to carry unless they’re judges, movie stars, or super-rich with political pull.  Law-abiding gun carriers in “free states” can’t exercise their right to protect themselves and their families in public when business, pleasure, or family take them to numerous American jurisdictions from Hawaii to New York. Behold the already introduced HR38.

As written, it would appear that a resident of, say, San Francisco who currently pretty much has to get elected to the city’s Board of Supervisors to qualify for a permit, would be able to carry in their home city on a non-resident permit from Utah or Florida if HR 38 became the law of the land.  And their law-abiding friends and relatives all over the country could carry for their and their loved ones’ protection while visiting.

Predictably, the possibility of nationwide concealed carry drives the anti-gunners nuts. The National Rifle Association and its Institute for Legislative Action has this to say about that.

Many on the pro-gun side have stated that they don’t like the idea of Federally-enacted reciprocity.  One reason often stated is, “What the Federal government gives, the Federal government can take away.”  So, if we get it and four or eight years from now it is repealed, where are we?  Why, right back where we are now. So, what will we have lost compared to now?

Another argument against the bill is that it violates states’ rights. That’s debatable. Here’s a scholarly take on it by old friend and brilliant researcher Clayton Cramer.

NRA-ILA is supporting it. Ditto Gun Owners of America, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and an organization where I’ve long served proudly on the board of trustees, Second Amendment Foundation.  Needless to say, I support it too.

I am very much interested in you folks’ take on it.

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UPDATES…

Let’s see…first off, today marks four years helicopter crash free for the old guy here, and my buddy John Strayer. For those who weren’t following the blog then, there’s a flashback here.

Or watch video here.

As we savor the schadenfreude of the last election, we need to avoid resting on our laurels. I’m aware that some who follow this backwoodshome.com blog don’t actually read Backwoods Home magazine.  I’d encourage you to get a subscription, or at least, pick up a copy at the newsstand.  The current issue has the third and final installment of my series on the real issues in the gun control debate, which you can find here.

We’ll be in this fight for the rest of our lives.  Your comments – and suggested strategies for the battle for gun owners’ civil rights – as always are welcome here.

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SHOT SHOW 2017 PART 5

SHOT week finished today, leaving a lot of exhausted people after the miles of aisles. While AR15 sales have softened since we learned in November that Hillary Clinton wasn’t going to be in charge of anything, sales in general are still good and the firearms industry is overall in optimistic mode.

SHOT sponsor NSSF, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, announced today, “Industry professionals packed the aisles from the opening bell, and attendance totaled nearly 65,000, surpassing last year’s turnout to make it the second most attended SHOT Show ever.”

My editor and old friend Roy Huntington opines that with gun-banning pressure from the White House turned for at least four years, shooter folk are turning more to recreational firearms. This year’s Show certainly featured lots of traditional double barrels, sporting rifles, and John Wayne-esque lever action rifles and single action revolvers.  Double action revolvers are coming back strong, with entries from Colt as mentioned previously, Smith & Wesson, and Ruger.  The latter just before SHOT announced a Redhawk snub-nose that holds eight rounds of .357 Magnum and a five-shot, three-inch barrel GP100 in .44 Special. You can read my take on the latter here. At a writer’s intro last September at the fabulous FTW hunting and shooting ranch in Texas, Ruger had an impromptu match in which we all shot these two powerful wheelguns on bowling pin tables. I had the good fortune to win, followed by Tamara Keel of Shooting Illustrated and Gail Pepin of the ProArms Podcast. (That told me two things: double action revolvers can be very amenable to the female of our species, and I was apparently in touch with my feminine side that day.)

A high point of the show was touching bases with many old friends and colleagues, a few of whom appear below.

It had been years since I’d seen Bruce Gray, whom I shot with on the first Team HK back in the day. Bruce and his GrayGuns firm are the acknowledged masters of tuning HKs and SIGs, and he consults for the latter company. Bruce has done a lot to publicize SIG’s relatively new P320, just adopted by the US Army as announced during the SHOT Show.

Anthony Spitale, left, gets a lot of the credit for Colt resurrecting its iconic double action revolver this year. Mark Redl, at right, is another Colt exec whose deep knowledge from the end user perspective has been invaluable to Colt. He and I shot together for Team Panteao not too long ago.

Dennis Reese, honcho at Springfield Armory, showed me their new economy version of one of my favorite guns, the little EMP 9mm subcompact 1911 they introduced back in 2004.  It shoots very well and will put this great concept in the holsters of more good people.

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SHOT SHOW 2017 PART 4

The mood was upbeat at this next to last day of the SHOT Show as we awaited the January 20 inauguration of the most pro-gun President since maybe, oh, Theodore Roosevelt.

Interesting gun news: it was announced today that the Army will adopt as its new pistol the SIG P320. The announcement comes as a surprise to many.  The Glock 9mm had been seen as the front-runner.  After all, though, the contract was for an MHS – Modular Handgun System – and the P320 with convertibility in size and even caliber is as modular as the state of the art offers right now.  The Army is also very big on manual safeties. That’s an option on the P320, and while this feature is not mentioned in the press releases thus far, photos accompanying the releases depict P320s with ambidextrous thumb safeties.

Lotsa new stuff this year.  Some is good new stuff.  Case in point: the MantisX Training System. It’s a module that slides onto your firearm’s accessory rail and coordinates with your Apple or Android device. Live fire or dry fire, aim at something and shoot. You’ll get a readout of how smooth and consistent your trigger pull was and, in the last instant, registers where even a “shot from an empty gun” would have hit. It tracks gun movement the whole time.  The police department I serve IS gonna have one of these!

Some of the new stuff is…well…remember the classic gun book from 1955,“Firearms Curiosa” by Lewis Winant, with items like palm pistols and belt buckle guns?  If Mr. Winant had been around to attend the 2017 SHOT Show, he would have found enough material for at least one new chapter.

There was a customized folding semiautomatic pistol in two variants, one of which when unfolded turned into a Glock with no trigger guard.  There was an updated version of the pre-WWII Mossberg Brownie pistol with six barrels instead of four, which fires two .25 Auto barrels per pull of the trigger. The Evil Princess was particularly horrified by a holster that she and I figure can cost the shooter his or her life in at least three different ways. (1) The safety strap appears to be narrow enough to enter the trigger guard upon reholstering, causing the pistol to discharge as it is pushed the rest of the way into the scabbard. (2) That Velcro-closed strap, when secured on a holster designed to be worn inside the waistband, goes to the bottom of the holster requiring the shooter to reach so deeply down into his or her pants that they’re unlikely to be able to get a proper hold on it to pull it clear if they have to draw to save their life. (3) The holster is demonstrated with that safety strap going over the back of the grip panel, so with a proper drawing grasp, the web of the hand is likely to hold the strap against the gun and trap the pistol so it can’t be drawn readily in self-defense.

Overall, though, there was lots of good stuff, and a total “kid in the candy store” element for any gun enthusiast lucky enough to cruise the miles of aisles. Evil Princess logged five and a half miles on her FItBit at the Show today. I spent more than half the day in meetings and was spared some of that exercise. Lucky me.

SIG P320 with factory optional ambidextrous manual safety.

The compact MantisX training system is a stone cold bargain at around $150.

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SHOT SHOW 2017: PART 3

The SHOT Show goes far beyond just guns.  One of the hottest accessories today is the sound suppressor – silencer – which is riding a huge wave of popularity that has yet to crest.  My old friend Jeff Chudwin is a retired police chief, several-time national patrol rifle champion, head of the Illinois Tactical Officers Association, and one of the great street survival gurus of all time. He has flatly stated that he thinks every police patrol rifle should be equipped with a silencer.  Not just for tactical reasons, but also because of the risk of hearing loss in training with very loud guns. He cites the case of an officer he knows who lost 50% of his hearing when a brother officer fired a 5.56mm M4 rifle near him in the course of an on-duty shooting where naturally, no one was wearing ear protection.  Today’s silencers are better than ever, and we have gun-makers such as SIG and Ruger making their own.

For some time now, the SHOT Show schedule has included not just show and tell/show and sell, but training. Some of it has to do with marketing and management for firearms dealers and shooting range owners, but some of it also has to do with survival.  Some highly-credentialed people are teaching initial police response to mass murder incidents, and offering tactics for unarmed civilians caught up in such atrocities.

Today some of us from Massad Ayoob Group took a well-attended class on firearms dealers’ role in suicide prevention. The National Shooting Sports Foundation has joined with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to help gun dealers recognize customers with suicidal ideation in hopes of denying those people the means to carry out impulsive self-destruction.   Though some have the impression that this is a new concept, it actually follows in the footsteps of the New Hampshire Firearms Safety Coalition under Elaine Frank, and the Gun Shop Project spearheaded by gun shop owner Ralph Demicco, an active member of NHFSC.  This program puts suicide prevention posters and literature into the shops themselves, and offers training for gun shop staff on how to pick up subtle indications of suicidal ideation.  There have already been “saves” with it, and many other states have developed programs modeled on New Hampshire’s. It is good to see a national organization picking up that ball and running with it, given that some two-thirds of the “deaths by gun violence” that prohibitionists cite as a reason for you and I not to own firearms are in fact suicides.

Christine Moutier, MD, Chief Medical Officer of AFSP yields the microphone to Bill Bussard of NSSF at SHOT Show suicide prevention lecture.

Latest variant of Ruger Mark IV .22 pistol, the 22/45 lightweight, mounts Ruger’s own suppressor.  Handy thing to have around farm or ranch. Yes, suppressor requires BATFE licensing.

 

 

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SHOT SHOW PART 2: MEDIA DAY

It has become a tradition that on the day before the SHOT Show officially opens, media can live fire with newly introduced guns and at noon, the range is opened so attending dealers can do the same.  The host range was the Boulder City Rifle and Pistol Club.

The new shotgun that most got my attention was the Super Black Eagle, the old model enhanced with changes to the bolt mechanism to keep it from being knocked out of battery if the user accidentally bumps the operating handle rearward.  The feedway to the magazine has been relieved to keep from catching fingertip or glove in the shell lifter.  Extended bolt handle and bolt release also make things easier for cold, gloved hands in duck blinds.  Finally, I like that the comb of the stock has a soft, cushiony cheekpiece.  An excellent example of a manufacturer tailoring a product to needs the end user has determined in the field.

In rifles, the feature I liked most was the bolt operating handle located forward on the left side of the receiver of Savage’s first AR15 clone, the MSR, which in their catalog stands for Modern Savage Rifle instead of Modern Sporting Rifle.  It’s somewhat like operating an FN FAL. Southpaws and righties alike will probably find it much more ergonomic than the rear-mounted T-handle on Stoner’s original and now ubiquitous AR15.  I first saw this feature a few years ago on an Arizona-built AR15, the American Spirit brand.  The feature hasn’t caught on as much is it deserves to; maybe Savage’s greater name recognition and advertising budget will help there.

Also, more long range tactical rifles on display than ever. Which, in this day and age, is a lot.

In handguns, the greatest interest seemed by be generated by the new Hudson pistol, a 1911-ish frame with very easy trigger sitting under a Glock-like striker fired barrel/slide assembly. With a low bore axis to begin with, muzzle jump is further reduced by burying the recoil spring and guide more deeply below the barrel.  Looks funny, shoots great. I’ve ordered one for testing.  The most interesting revolver by far is the first double-action six-shooter Colt has produced in many years. Dubbed the Cobra, it’s actually more like the old Cobra’s progenitor the Detective Special in that it’s all steel.  Lockwork and overall appearance are somewhat similar to the last of the small frame Colts of the past, the SF/VI and Magnum carry. Available to start only in .38 Special, it comes with Hogue grips and interchangeable front sights (fiber optic to start, night sight module coming soon). The most significant design improvement is a trigger guard extended to the front to allow a gloved finger. On most double action revolvers, particularly these small-framed ones, the thickness of glove material often blocks the trigger’s forward return, and renders the five- or six-shot revolver a single shot.  I tried the new Cobra with gloves and was pleased with how it worked that way. Got one of those coming too.  Action is VERY nice.  Manufacturers’ suggested retail prices are about $1149 for the 15-shot Hudson 9mm and $699 for the new Cobra revolver.

The Evil Princess demonstrates the controlability of the new Hudson 9mm pistol. Spent casing from last shot is airborne, muzzle already back on target.

Hudson looks funny, shoots sweet.

The new Benelli Super Black Eagles are up-featured for deep cold weather shotgunning…

…and this very soft cheekpiece on the comb of the stock is a welcome “face-saver” with heavy loads.

Lotsa new tactical precision rifles, including this DAN in .338 Lapua…

…from Israeli Weapon Industries.

New 6-shot Colt Cobra .38 is all stainless steel, full length ejection, sweet trigger pull, and extended trigger guard that is glove compatible.

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SHOT SHOW MEDIA DAY

It has become a tradition that on the day before the SHOT Show officially opens, media can live fire with newly introduced guns and at noon, the range is opened so attending dealers can do the same.  The host range was the Boulder City Rifle and Pistol Club.

The new shotgun that most got my attention was the Super Black Eagle, the old model enhanced with changes to the bolt mechanism to keep it from being knocked out of battery if the user accidentally bumps the operating handle rearward.  The feedway to the magazine has been relieved to keep from catching fingertip or glove in the shell lifter.  Extended bolt handle and bolt release also make things easier for cold, gloved hands in duck blinds.  Finally, I like that the comb of the stock has a soft, cushiony cheekpiece.  An excellent example of a manufacturer tailoring a product to needs the end user has determined in the field.

In rifles, the feature I liked most was the bolt operating handle located forward on the left side of the receiver of Savage’s first AR15 clone, the MSR, which in their catalog stands for Modern Savage Rifle instead of Modern Sporting Rifle.  It’s somewhat like operating an FN FAL. Southpaws and righties alike will probably find it much more ergonomic than the rear-mounted T-handle on Stoner’s original and now ubiquitous AR15.  I first saw this feature a few years ago on an Arizona-built AR15, the American Spirit brand.  The feature hasn’t caught on as much is it deserves to; maybe Savage’s greater name recognition and advertising budget will help there.

Also, more long range tactical rifles on display than ever. Which, in this day and age, is a lot.

In handguns, the greatest interest seemed by be generated by the new Hudson pistol, a 1911-ish polymer frame with very easy trigger sitting under a Glock-like striker fired barrel/slide assembly. With a low bore axis to begin with, muzzle jump is further reduced by burying the recoil spring and guide more deeply below the barrel.  Looks funny, shoots great. I’ve ordered one for testing.  The most interesting revolver by far is the first double-action six-shooter Colt has produced in many years. Dubbed the Cobra, it’s actually more like the old Cobra’s progenitor the Detective Special in that it’s all steel.  Lockwork and overall appearance are somewhat similar to the last of the small frame Colts of the past, the SF/VI and Magnum carry. Available to start only in .38 Special, it comes with Hogue grips and interchangeable front sights (fiber optic to start, night sight module coming soon). The most significant design improvement is a trigger guard extended to the front to allow a gloved finger. On most double action revolvers, particularly these small-framed ones, the thickness of glove material often blocks the trigger’s forward return, and renders the five- or six-shot revolver a single shot.  I tried the new Cobra with gloves and was pleased with how it worked that way. Got one of those coming too.  Action is VERY nice.  Manufacturers’ suggested retail prices are about $1149 for the 15-shot Hudson 9mm and $699 for the new Cobra revolver.

The Evil Princess demonstrates the controlability of the new Hudson 9mm pistol. Spent casing from last shot is airborne, muzzle already back on target.

Hudson looks funny, shoots sweet.

The new Benelli Super Black Eagles are up-featured for deep cold weather shotgunning…

…and this very soft cheekpiece on the comb of the stock is a welcome “face-saver” with heavy loads.

Lotsa new tactical precision rifles, including this DAN in .338 Lapua…

…from Israeli Weapon Industries.

New 6-shot Colt Cobra .38 is all stainless steel, full length ejection, sweet trigger pull, and extended trigger guard that is glove compatible.

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SHOT SHOW 2017, PART 1

The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s annual Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show begins officially this coming Tuesday. The SHOT show is the largest thing of its kind in the firearms industry.  It’s the single biggest locus for new product introductions.

Today was the pre-SHOT SIG Day, sponsored by SIG-SAUER, at the wonderful Clark County shooting complex.  No shotguns (not SIG’s thing), but many a cool rifle and pistol.

New on the pistol side will be the iconic SIG P210 target pistol, often called the Rolex of handguns, now manufactured in New Hampshire at a greatly reduced price point. The one I fired was a joy to shoot, with a practically telekinetic trigger.  There’s a very sweet “Kyle Lamb Special” 9mm 1911, and a new X5 P320, essentially a souped-up version of their very popular polymer frame/striker fired pistol.

Among the rifles, my favorite was a suppressed .300 Blackout on SIG’s AR platform.  Recoil and sound signature were both remarkably mild.

A co-sponsor was the Walker company. The Evil Princess and I shot with their new Razor XV BT active hearing protection. You can carry on a conversation behind the firing line with them plugged into your ears, and loud sounds are reduced rather than the disorienting sound cut-out we hear with some of the cheaper active ear pro.  The BT stands for the fact that you can hook up with Bluetooth through them at the same time.  Batteries are good for three to four hours. We found them very comfortable, and the Evil Princess was absolutely hooked on them.  She was listening to podcasts through them while we stood in line awaiting our turn to shoot.  They are plugs secured by a connector that can be worn around the neck whether the plugs are in your ears or not – extremely comfortable!  I tried them under regular active muffs (some of us like to double up around the really loud stuff) and I found them comfortable and functional when used that way, as well.

Stay tuned for more…and bear in mind that there’s so much to see at SHOT, any reviewer can only hope to cover the tip of the iceberg.

New X5 version of SIG P320.

High speed/low drag describes this version of X5 P320.

Here I’m enjoying the soft recoil of the 9mm X5; Razor active ear plugs are doing their job nicely.

Shooting right to left, Evil Princess drop the first of 4 plates with 4 shots from carry version of new P320 variation. She loves the Razor XV BT.

US-made version of legendary P210 SIG will cost less than expected.

Muffs doubled up well with XV BT ear pro, both of which were superfluous with suppressed SIG carbine in .300 Blackout with Romeo 4 optic.

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THE COOLEST SHOOTING MATCH EVER IS BACK!

Ever hear of the Second Chance Bowling Pin Shoot?  Back in the mid-70s, Richard Davis – the armed citizen who won a three-against-one shootout with armed robbers, and invented the soft, concealable body armor that saved thousands of cops in the decades since – created a competition shooting format in which whoever shot an array of bowling pins off a table fastest, won.  It sounded at first like plinking tin cans off the back fence, only with bigger guns and bullets and targets, but it turned out to have great spectator appeal with instant feedback.

The match grew, drawing hundreds of shooters and hundreds of spectators. It encompassed great free food, and a carnival atmosphere in which the midway was all live-fire outdoor shooting galleries with different games for pistol and revolver, rifle, and shotguns loaded with buckshot for pins and slugs for heavy steel knockover plates out to a hundred yards.

I shot that match 23 or 24 years in a row, until Life went on.  Richard stopped the match, sold his sponsoring Second Chance Body Armor company, and retired. We gun folk missed that iconic match, where many friendships had been made.  I always said that if shooting matches were rock concerts, that one would have been Woodstock.  It was A Happening. It was…groovy.

What’s that you say? The ‘70s called and wants its terminology back? Maybe…but the 21st Century called and said it wanted this great old match back, too.  Richard’s son Matt Davis carried on the family tradition, creating the Armor Express brand that’s now one of the biggest in the body armor industry, and he and his dad have brought The Pin Shoot back!

It will be in its traditional location, the family vacation land of Central Lake, Michigan, near Traverse City.  Awards will be traditional, too:  guns, guns, and more guns.  Entry fee ain’t cheap, but the prize table is good, and deep.  For info on what is now known simply as The Pin Shoot. Dates are June 9-17, 2017. You don’t have to be there the whole time to shoot, and win.

For us old gunnies here (Randy and Ken, you listening?) it’ll be like a high school reunion with guns. I’ve rearranged my schedule to be there.  Hope to see some of you there, too.

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