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Category Archives: Firearms
Long Range Police Marksmanship Part One
The November 28th police shooting in Austin, Texas, where a mounted patrol officer neutralized an active shooter at over 100 yards with his handgun, reminded me of another active shooter incident 20 years ago. Both cases reinforce the lesson that police pistol training needs to take place at longer ranges. Austin Sgt. Adam Johnson engaged suspect Larry McQuilliams, who had unleashed over 200 rounds around the city’s downtown from two rifles, at 312 feet with his duty Smith & Wesson M&P40. Johnson was on foot and holding the reigns of two horses when he fired a single fatal shot, one-handed, at the suspect. The bullet hit the McQuilliams in the … Continue reading
Posted in Firearms, Officer Safety, Street
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Ruger Stretches the LCRx to 3 Inches
Sturm, Ruger & Co. has been busy this year in the revolver department. At January’s SHOT Show, we got to shoot the LCRx, an external hammer version of their polymer/aluminum wheelgun. Next came the 9mm moon-clipped LCR model introduced in October. Out of nowhere, Ruger just announced its new 3″ barreled LCRx in .38 Spl. +P. “The newest LCRx is the perfect revolver for backpacking, concealed carry, home defense, or just plinking,” said Chris Killoy, Ruger’s President and Chief Operating Officer. “The 3″ barrel, adjustable sight, and modest weight create a great all-around gun.” I know Ruger is upscaling an existing platform, which will hold down the production costs, but … Continue reading
Taurus Curve Gets Spanked by Gun Pundits Everywhere
You may have seen this on the Internet recently. Taurus USA took the popular lightweight polymer .380 ACP carry pistol in a different direction by introducing “contour” to this familiar formula. The electronic media descended upon the new Taurus Curve .380 autopistol and treated it like Theseus did the Cretan Bull at Marathon: One bovine D.O.A. Keyboard pundits are calling this gun a publicity stunt, not a serious self defense firearm. If you trawl the gunblogs, you will find both sarcasm and derision for this design. From the Curve’s wonky shape to a total lack of iron sights to its holster-less clip of death, not much good is being recorded … Continue reading
New Rock Island Armory .22 TCM Pistols
Rock Island Armory, a division of Armscor, is releasing their new single stack .22 TCM caliber 1911-style pistols. I shot the original version .22 TCM’s at SHOT just a few years ago. I even got to interview the .22 TCM’s inventor, Fred Craig, out in the sand. Pushing a 40 grain bullet along over 2,000 fps, this pistol/caliber combination makes for a very accurate and flat-shooting gun. At the outdoor range, I was able to make consistent hits on small steel at 50+ yards with a full-sized .22 TCM 1911. I owed this to the crisp trigger and speedy arc-less round. The new TCM pistols come with a 9mm conversion … Continue reading
Posted in Firearms
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New Rifle, Old Friends
It was a nice fall day and although I had taken some time off from work, I rolled out of the vacation sack early to put on some OD BDU’s and boots to join the SWAT guys for a range qualification day. I got a kitchen pass from the Missus! Man, reliving old times. When I came off the road and into detectives, I gave up my AR-15 to an ex-SWAT guy working Midnight Shift. I figured he needed it more than I did. I still have my Remington 870 with rifled sights, SpeedFeed stock, and Surefire foregrip light in the trunk of my unmarked. While the shotgun is nice, … Continue reading
Posted in Firearms, SWAT
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New Aimpoint Carbine Optic for your AR-15
Aimpoint, Inc. is introducing a carbine-specific red dot optic for the modern sporting rifle, a.k.a. the AR-15. Unlike some optics, this one co-witnesses with your AR’s iron sights for reliable performance. I have my own (different brand) optic set up this way on my personal rifle. Batteries be damned! The price point of the Aimpoint ACO is very tempting. Details are below. Randall Chantilly, VA, October 20, 2014 – Aimpoint, the originator and worldwide leader in electronic red dot sighting technology, has announced the introduction of a new sight designed specifically for modern sporting rifles such as the AR-15. This new product, known as the Aimpoint Carbine Optic (ACO), expands … Continue reading
Posted in Firearms, Technology
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BulletSafe Vest Vs. .50 AE Desert Eagle
I met Tom Nardone, owner of BulletSafe Body Armor, at SHOT Show earlier this year. I wrote an article about BulletSafe’s extremely cost effective $299.00 Level IIIA body armor for BlueSheepdog.com (BulletSafe on BlueSheepdog). Above is a video of this vest taking on a .50 Action Express caliber from a Desert Eagle. The .50 AE can be loaded very hot. The bullet used here is a Magnum Research 350 grain JSP. Ballistics101.com states the specs for the Magnum Research .50 AE in 350 grain put it at 1,270 FPS, delivering 1,253 FPE at the muzzle. While this is far below the punch given by the .454 Casull, .460 S&W Magnum, … Continue reading
Ruger Adds 9mm to LCR Lineup
For you back-up revolver carriers, Sturm, Ruger & Company is introducing a 9mm version of their popular LCR platform. If you like having a secondary firearm chambered in the same caliber as your on-duty pistol, then this one may be your ideal belly gun. The Ruger LCR has rightly gained a solid following based upon its light weight, smooth cammed trigger pull, and reliable functioning. A 9mm round ups the foot pounds of energy delivered on target when compared to its .38 Special +P variation, though both still lag behind the .357 Magnum. Sharing the same 400 stainless steel monolithic frame of the .357 model, the 9mm LCR will come … Continue reading
Posted in Concealed Carry, Firearms, Off Duty, Street
Tagged back-up gun, concealed carry gun, Police Back-Up Gun, Sturm Ruger
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Liberty Ammunition Civil Defense Review
(Ed. note: Richard of BlueSheepdog.com and GunsHolstersandGear.com was kind enough to review this ammunition for me. He is a true gentleman, experienced law enforcement officer and writer, and a really bad joke teller.) Knocking someone through a plate glass window with a single shot from a pistol is the stuff of TV fantasy. Handgun ammo is just not that powerful. In fact, pistol calibers are generally considered marginal for stopping a violent attacker when compared to rifle and shotgun loads. Even so, there are definitely differences between handgun ammunition designs that can affect how quickly an attacker is stopped when shot. Some rounds have built reputations as being effective on … Continue reading
Posted in Concealed Carry, Firearms, Florida Companies
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Raven Concealment Systems ModuLoader
Raven Concealment Systems has come out with a product that made me think, “Duh!” Raven’s ModuLoader Pocket Shield is perfect for the discreet carry of knives and other like equipment. There are times that I would prefer to hide my blade, especially when in dress or business casual clothes. A metal knife clip dragging on the pocket edge of an expensive pair of slacks will not do. I ordered a Pocket Shield primarily for knife carry. It arrived packaged with a nifty Raven sticker, a short length of small nylon cord, and six Chicago screws for affixing accessories. I ordered a gray Pocket Shield instead of black, well, just because … Continue reading
Posted in Concealed Carry, Detectives, Firearms, Flashlights, Knives, Off Duty
2 Comments
New Troy Defense Pump Action Rifle
Troy Defense’s new pump action sporting rifle reminds me of the Remington 7615P patrol rifle, that was marketed to law enforcement as an easily transitioned rifle that was identical in workings to a police 870 shotgun. The Troy model is obviously more AR-15 than pump shotty, but you get the idea. Troy Defense says their sporting rifle “is complaint in areas where legal ownership of standard semi-automatic rifles have been legislatively limited.” I don’t see this as something that is a replacement for the standard semi-auto AR-15’s used by law enforcement, in fact, if you can think of a reason a department should buy them for duty use, leave a … Continue reading
Posted in Firearms
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FBI Going Back To 9mm
Continuing a trend to steer away from larger handgun calibers for law enforcement, the FBI will be soliciting vendors, i.e. firearms manufacturers, for commercial off the shelf (COTS) semi-automatic pistols chambered for the 9 x 19mm round for future test and evaluation. The FBI currently fields the .40 S&W caliber for standard use. A movement toward 9mm and from .45 ACP, .40 S&W, and .357 Sig comes down to ballistic effectiveness and training issues, in my opinion. The Wonder 9’s modern bullet technology and increased magazine capacity make it attractive. And let’s face it, today’s generation of cops rarely have had a traditional firearms upbringing–especially with handguns. Teaching and maintaining … Continue reading
Remington R51 Update
Remington Arms released the following statement today: July 25, 2014 Remington R51 Pistol Product Update Earlier this year, we launched the innovative R51 subcompact pistol to critical acclaim. During testing, numerous experts found the pistol to function flawlessly. In fact, they found it to have lower felt recoil, lower muzzle rise and better accuracy and concealability than other products in its class. However, after initial commercial sales, our loyal customers notified us that some R51 pistols had performance issues. We immediately ceased production to re-test the product. While we determined the pistols were safe, certain units did not meet Remington’s performance criteria. The performance problems resulted from complications during our … Continue reading
Posted in Firearms
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Swab-its, Bore-Tips, and Gun-Tips for Gun Cleaning
I saw Swab-its® brand Bore-Tips and Gun-Tips at SHOT Show this year. They are reusable firearm cleaning products Made in the USA. Some advantages to Gun-Tips are: • Gun-tips® foam swabs are reusable and replace cotton swabs. • Fiber free, does not shed or leave lint behind. • Perfect for cleaning and lubricating hard to reach places. • Available in a variety of shapes, sizes and packages. • Economical, washable and reusable, just like Bore-tips®. • Made in the USA. Pam over at Swab-Its sent me the story below, which explains their products better than I can. This is the story of an innovative American company, Super Brush LLC, which, … Continue reading
Pistol Training Video on a Treadmill
Okay, my first reaction was, “Wow, that’s gonna be unsafe as hell.” At 1:24 minutes into the vid, I was a bit mesmerized, though. Nice shooting, Mr. Harrington. This is not a training method I would advocate, but it shows an excellent degree of skill. Mr. Harrington’s pedigree: Dave Harrington (a.k.a. “Super” Dave) is the President of Combatspeed LLC which is located in Tampa, Florida. Dave is a two time retired senior weapons instructor from the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. He has 23 years of military experience, the last 16 of which were spent in the Army’s Special Forces. He qualified as an … Continue reading
Posted in Firearms, Florida Companies
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