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Boomers and Zoomers

Author’s note: I just want to be clear that I’ve had this particular draft saved on my computer prior to Mr. Hackathorn’s October 19, 2022 YouTube video hosted on Wilson Combat’s channel concerning red dot and iron sights on handguns. This piece has nothing to do with that, and timing is just coincidental.

I am writing this in annum 2022, in which in the Internet firearms landscape might appear to be divided by the boomers and the zoomers. Boomers are presumably laughed at for their lack of self awareness in their admiration over what are technically more fickle firearms designs with lower capacity that use more cumbersome and expensive cartridges. The zoomers are the younger camp that epitomizes the attitude of “the future is now, old man.” Zoomer guns are made of plastic, hold 24 cartridges, have a mounted dot and weapon light, and strikers because ain’t nobody got time for hammers. Zoomer designs, materials, carry methods, holster choices and all manner of accouterments are a sharp contrast from the wood, steel, and leather aspects of the past.

I must confess that I have a deep appreciation for old guns, their designs and their contextual use continues to this day and is one of my favorite topics to keep discovering. The more I learn about shooting today, the more interesting drawing connections and analyzing the past becomes to me.  

One cannot understand the present without studying the past.

The impetus for this article comes from some of the insights I gathered after I wrote the Stakeout Unit piece. Jim Cirillo preferred a .38 Special K-frame Smith & Wesson while Bill Allard preferred his tuned 1967 National Match pistol. One man preferred a revolver and another man preferred a 1911. Simple enough, right? On today’s Internet, either man would be dismissed as a grandpa who needs to chill. But giving the topic more thought, it dawned on me: for basically four generations, the American shooter, regardless of their occupation as soldiers, cops, competitive shooters, or regular people– they all either carried and shot revolvers or a 1911 pistol.

9mm Colt 1911 Gov’t Model, carried both by Parker and Longbough in Way Of The Gun. image credit: IMFDB.org

And yes, you had those who preferred the Hi-Power but I’d argue they were the CZ hipster shooters of their day.

Four generations covers an entire century, so it is no wonder these weapons have permeated deeper cultural layers and became things of legend and tradition. I am not saying that there aren’t boomers out there who miss the point entirely and don’t get it, but it’s easy for zoomers to laugh at a boomer who shoots a revolver or 1911 seriously without realizing that this boomer came up shooting guns like that for their entire life. The same way their fathers and grandfathers did before them. Like the gentlemen from the Stakeout Unit mentioned above, clueful shooters understood and worked around their guns’ limitations. This is why Stakeout Unit members also carried extra pistols with them and brought shotguns on stakeouts as well. They made use of what was available at the time to the best of their ability. This is the kind of familiarity that brings forth comfort and thus confidence with chosen gear. It is difficult to blame a shooter that has put in the time and work and smartly understands their chosen firearm for sticking to it in spite better options being available. Like with everything, context is crucial.

Legacy and tradition never stopped yesteryear’s shooters from moving forward and finding better ways to do things. The shooting thought leaders of the era rightfully continued to think outside the box and developed better support gear like speedloaders or better holsters. There is a reason why the photo of Milt Sparks and Bruce Nelson is the first thing you see when you click on this article.

A 5th Generation Glock 17 fully done up by Boresight Solutions with an Aimpoint ACRO P2 red dot perfectly showcases a reliable and top the line duty handgun in the year 2022. image credit: Boresight’s FB page.

Incidents with criminals, such as the aftermath of the 1986 Miami shootout, the US military switching to the M9 pistol and regular innovation also propelled the state of things forward as well. But so ingrained was the generations’ old legacy of revolvers and 1911s that during the early days of the 9mm Luger “wondernine” revolution, many of the big gun companies offered double-action only variants of their models in order to court shooters who had already spent their entire lives shooting revolvers. The venerable Beretta 92 D comes to mind, for example.  

Understanding the complications of a revolver’s timing or the fragility of the 1911’s internal extractor makes me appreciate my Glock 17 even more so. In the same way, modern shooters are embracing positive aspects from old wheelguns or single action 1911s. More than a century later, shooters are still obsessed with the pull and break provided by a well tuned 1911 style trigger. They see the performance benefits and so 2011 style pistols are soaring in popularity now. These guns take the best benefits that a 1911 offers and address other shortcomings, like the lack of capacity, for example. Similarly, while duty size revolvers are not as popular as they once were, the American consumer still likes to buy compact sized carry-friendly revolvers as they excel in certain self defense niches.

By the way, the boomer and zoomer memes are funny. Don’t stop sharing them.

The 1911 Is Forever.

The MFT Battlelink Minimalist Stock – Why The Hate?

I’ve never cloned a rifle, but I enjoy the cloning community. I follow several pages across different social media outlets and enjoy seeing and learning about military rifles, especially those in use by various special units. I bring all this up because cloners are interesting folks. I once saw one of America’s elite and his rifle being made fun of because of his stock. It was a Mission First Tactical Battlelink Minimalist Stock. 

As this overweight neckbeard made fun of a special ops troop for his stock, I wondered what the problem was with the stock. I had never used one, but I stumbled across this same or similar remarks across the internet. People often remark on the stock but seemingly never provide a reason. Reviews across the board seem good, so when I stumbled across one, I figured, why not check it out and see what the internet hate is about? 

The MFT Battlelink Minimalist – Keeping It Light 

What first took me by surprise was how freaking light this thing is. I’m used to my SOPMOD B5 and Magpul SL stocks. This thing weighs nothing in comparison. It’s 5.8 ounces, according to the internet. If you are going for a lightweight build, then the MFT Battlelink seems like an awesome option. 

It’s a whole lot lighter than most stocks and a lot lighter than any of the PDW stocks I’ve ever used. I own an Aero Precision EPC, and as a PCC, it’s got a heavy buffer, which makes it a bit rear-heavy. I keep a Magpul SL on it normally and swapping it for the MFT Battlelink resulted in a bit more balanced rifle. 

The lock-up from the stock to the tube is tight, very tight, and wobble-free. However, there are no issues manipulating or deploying the stock. It surprised me how tight and nice the lock-up was for a fairly budget-friendly stock. 

We get numerous sling mounts, including a QD port on the bottom of the stock that is fixed and non-rotating. There are areas to attach a web attachment as well. I used the QD port exclusively and had no issues. The stock forms a hook-like shape that people say gets caught on stuff. 

I guess it could happen, but it seems rare. If this was a major concern, I’ve seen guys braid 550 cord from one part to another to form an A frame-type design. Heck, MFT started selling braided cord for just that reason. 

Launching Lead 

With the stock attached, a pocket full of hope, and a range bag full of 9mm, I hit the range. With the stock adjusted just right for me, I started launching lead and shooting various drills. The cheek weld is surprisingly okay. It’s not as good as the Magpul SL, but it provides more than enough. It’s more and better than your standard M4 stock. 

The stock advertises itself as minimalist, and that’s true, but the shoulder pad isn’t. It’s fairly wide and makes great contact with the shoulder. It’s as wide as some of the larger stocks on the market. A decent cheek weld and good shoulder contact are nice. I used my angled foregrip to pull it in tight. 

I didn’t get single beard hair pulled out either, and that’s always a plus. In firing, I found no flaws. In donning, moving, and removing the sling, I never had issues with the sling catching on the stock and disabling it in one way or another. 

The stock has an aggressive rolled toe that is nice as you go from low to ready. It rolls up nicely and catches your shoulder. The toe also makes it nice and easy to transition from shoulder to shoulder as well. 

The MFT Battlelink stock locks in nice and tight and soaks up recoil nicely. It also doesn’t slip and slide off your shoulder and feels quite nice. I’ve only had a few days and a few hundred reps, both dry and live, but I don’t get the hate. 

Why The Hate? 

Is the MFT Battlelink God’s gift to stocks? Maybe not, but for a minimalist rig, it’s quite nice, and for a budget-friendly rig, it’s also quite nice. It’s super light but stable and comfortable. It doesn’t offer the same support as other, bigger stocks, but it offers a surprising amount for such a minimalist rig. 

I think the hate comes from the fact it’s often shoved on bad rifles. These stocks are fairly common on super-budget rifles, and that might have gotten them a bad reputation. I love shotguns, but the shotgun community doesn’t give shotguns a good name. I think the same thing happened with the MFT Battlelink stock. 

All in all, it’s a fairly well-made stock that’s ultra-light. I don’t get the hate, and I think it’s a great piece of gear. Maybe I’m wrong, but maybe the internet gives things bad reputations for no reason at all. It’s certainly not the Olight of stocks. 

Dark Star Gear Launches the Apollo!

dark star gear apollo holsters for the sig P365 springfield hellcat smith & wesson shield plus and glock 43 48 43x

Is it a return to the moon missions?

Not quite that exciting, but close.

The Apollo series from Dark Star Gear is the essentials you need to start carrying with any of the four most popular slim-9’s as soon as it arrives. It is meant to take the guesswork out of the holster selection and accessory process and do the one thing you’re buying the holster to do, carry your gun.

From DSG,

Introducing Apollo

With what we learned from the years of feedback from our Orion and Hitchhiker holsters, we’ve packaged the most desired features into one new offering. We noticed a pattern for the current generation of concealed carry pistols and their buyers. I don’t want to say we’ve taken the guesswork out. But we’ve taken out the confusion/analysis paralysis/FOMO. You get a holster that lets you get rockin’ and rollin’, locked and loaded, right away. You can still adjust it easily to your needs.

The Apollo is optic cut, has dual 1.5” belt clips, and adjustable ride height all as standard. Ambidextrous for all users, without any of the drawbacks or feature limitations found in other holsters. And before you ask, yes it is Enigma compatible.

With an initial launch covering the Glock G48/43X/43, SIG P365/P365X/P365XL, Smith & Wesson Shield Plus/1.0/2.0, and Springfield Armory Hellcat RDP we are focusing on the most popular and comfortable carry guns selling to most new owners. But don’t fret, following this launch Apollo will have plenty of your old favorites as well.

Now for the best part, especially for anyone who has waited to order previously when they saw that cart total. MSRP: $49.99, but this Black Friday launch features an introductory 20% off bringing it to $39.99!  

They’re in stock!  If you can place the order, they’re in stock.

the new dark star gear apollo holster with a sig sauer p365 in a wilson combat grip perfect no nonsense concealed carry setup

Nature Is Healing

In the last two weeks I happened to stop at two different big box outdoor stores for some reason or another. Honestly, it was primarily to check out the used gun counter. Especially because I like to gawk at the retail prices for used vintage Smith and Wesson revolvers or Colt 1911 autos and especially anything that is a USGI firearm. You’d think that the person responsible for pricing every M-1 Garand, M-1 Carbine or USGI M1911-A1 takes a hit from a crack pipe each time they fill out a new price label. Other times, these “gun rooms” just happen to have neat things that you don’t see every day, like a museum exhibit.

After I was done “browsing” at one store, I could not help but to notice the fact they had actual smokeless powders and also primers in stock and readily available. These weren’t behind any glass display case or out of reach to the public either—they were just on the shelf like the before times. Out of shock, I even picked up a one pound container of Hogdon H-335 just to make sure it wasn’t some empty display. No sir, when I picked it up I felt each of those seven thousand grains in that container. Then I grabbed the container of HP-38 next to it make sure it wasn’t a fluke. Same thing. All right, how about the 8lb jug above? Full. Damn.

The other store was much smaller, but I was also surprised to find containers of smokeless propellant freely available for purchase. I could not remember the last I saw something like that where it was not a coincidence.

And the primers! The first store I am referencing had actual primers there. Several one thousand count cartons. Not surprisingly, small pistol primers were sold out. I did notice small pistol magnum, small rifle, and small rifle magnum along with CCI BR-4s and Federal Small Rifle Gold Medal.

Not too thrilled with these prices, but at least these whomever needed them could actually buy them.

Nature is healing.

Seeing powder and primer on the shelves is a welcome sight to my weary eyes, but the downside are the new “stable” prices. The average price of a pound of powder is now $39.99, with a $12 difference from the last time I purchased any in early 2021. As for primers, it wasn’t long ago that a one thousand primer brick retailed for only $35-$40 dollars. The average price is now $89.99 be it small rifle, small pistol, etc. I noticed that the CCI BR-4s were selling for $149.99 while the Federal Gold Medal small rifle brick was now $99.99. While the new prices are a bummer to any of us who have been reloading, the bright side is that these supplies are now becoming easier to find.

The APC9 Lingle Industries Lower – Add Some Scorpion to Your APC9K

I absolutely love my B&T APC9K. It imbues me with a degree of elitism where I suddenly want to make fun of the ‘poors.’ Then I look at mag prices and realize, wait, I am the poors! B&T is damn proud of their magazines. They aren’t bad, but I don’t understand the 50-dollar price tag. Plus, it’s not like the aftermarket is helping them out as of right now. What’s a man to do? Well, he or she can turn to a company called Lingle Industries. 

Lingle produces a number of interesting lower options for a variety of guns. They make lowers for the APC9, as well as the Stribog, SCAR 16, SCAR 17, and BREN 2. With the APC9K, their lowers allow you to be more selective of your magazine choice, and Lingle makes a lower I couldn’t help but love. Their Scorpion lower for the APC9K allows me to use Scorpion mags. 

That’s awesome because I already own a Scorpion and a pile of magazines, and I can always get more at a good price. Don’t forget Magpul makes magazines for the Scorpion, and so does Mantis and PSA. Magpul even produces a D-50 drum in case you need some extra sting. The APC9K series serialize the upper receiver so you can purchase the lower and have it sent straight to your home. 

Breaking Down the Lingle Lower 

Obviously, the first big improvement is that it takes Scorpion magazines. That simplifies logistics. Second, instead of being polymer, it’s aluminum which is an interesting choice, and it works and looks good. The lowers come in numerous colors, and this is their FDE model. 

The Lingle lower uses a Scorpion magazine release that’s quasi-AK-like, and it comes with a Strike Industries mag release. The lower retains the best qualities of the APC9K lower, including total ambidexterity. It uses an AR pistol grip of your choice as well as a mostly AR 15 lower parts kit

The ergonomics are outstanding. Everything is easy to reach and very accessible. Magazines plop right out with a press of the release. The controls are large and easy to reach. The last-round bolt hold open is preserved, and I’d even argue the bolt release is easier to use on the Lingle than the regular lower. 

The Lingle In Action 

My biggest concern is taking a weapon that’s super reliable and making it less so. Luckily after a half dozen Scorpion magazines, I can say it’s not a concern I should have. The lower is crafted expertly, and it fits nice and tight on the gun without any reliability issues present. This is an example of their complete lower, and the trigger is awesome. It’s super light and tactile with no perceptible takeup. 

It’s a press, then a bang. The totally flat trigger is a nice touch as well. The Lingle Industries Scorpion lower breathed new life and lots more reload into my APC9K. Admittedly it took more than a few reload drills to get used to tossing Scorpion mags in. They seem to sit deeper. The magazine release is a completely different motion that takes some new connective tissue to get used to. 

Once the neurons fired up, I figured it out. Running reloads into the flared magwell isn’t difficult. I can slap one in and get a shot on target quickly and intuitively. 

Parting Shots

Of all the potential upgrades you can make to your APC9K, the Lingle lower ranks up there. It’s a drop-in installation, and it doesn’t cause any reliability issues. This lower opens up the market to cheaper, easier-to-find magazines of varying capacities. Paying 18 bucks for a magazine is a lot better than paying 50 per magazine, especially when I have to fill a chest rig full of them. 

Conventional Threats: Virginia Walmart Shooting

image of police response to Chesapeake va walmart shooting
Image via NBC News, Alex Brandon AP

From reports this morning a disgruntled employee at the Walmart in Chesapeake Virginia open fired on his coworkers last night, killing 6 before killing himself. Unlike the Club Q shooting, the details coming out of this one appear to be tragically straight forward. An employee of the company felt wronged and chose violence as his method of retribution rather than quitting.

‘Disgruntled Employee’ won’t make as many headlines for as long as ‘MAGA Republican lawmaker’s Non-Binary Grandson attacks LGBTQ Club’ and the fact the employee apparently used the three times as common, and therefore more boring, handgun will also result in a quickly fading national interest beyond what can be leveraged for more gun control.

Nothing will be widely delved into about the employee’s alleged grievances, nothing will emerge on to what extent they were valid or exaggerated. Nobody will acknowledge that the media frenzy around events like Club Q, and now Walmart, will remind people, including those who it is dangerous to remind, that violence is a very attention grabbing option and that choosing it grants infamy. Infamy is enough for those dangerous few.

But what we’re seeing here is a dangerous inversion of the threat matrix. Being shot on any given day, especially in a mass shooting is an unlikely event. But it is a highly dangerous one, more so than tripping and twisting your ankle walking around your pet. The pet is a much more present hazard with a low probability of death, but they represent a substantial amount of the trip injuries that ERs see.

What I am getting at is the threat matrix, also known more broadly as risk assessment. While risk assessment can be used for all physical, social, and financial risks, a threat assessment is more focused on actual physical threats to you or your entity.

What is the risk a car crashes through the front of the store? What are the odds it is accidental vs deliberate? What are the odds someone shoots at you at work? What is the breakdown on the odds that the shooter is an employee, a known customer, or a random? These are all threat matrix type questions and anyone who has worked in business and professional safety for awhile will acknowledge that the people you know, employees and customers, are the higher threat when it comes to violence in the workplace. But that said, the overwhelming majority of your efforts will be spent preventing accidents and not assaults. That is how the threat matrix breaks down.

The biggest enemy of the publicly accessible space is the preventable injury, not a crazy customer or an angry employee.

Appropriate Appreciation of the Threat

The media is going to continue to make Colorado the scarier event, propping up their pet theory for why a prominent locale that supports a media relevant and controversial current hot button like drag was attacked. This puts the weight of the ‘next’ attack seem like it will be more LGBTQ clubs, and there is an appreciable threat there from the attention, the attitudes, and the current interest from various extreme elements.

But for Pulse and Club Q, how many workplace violence incidents do we have? How many disgruntled employees who resorted to homicide, maybe not to a mass shooting level? At the mass shooting level I can think of about a half a dozen, probably more given time to go through a list.

The risk of the Walmart type event is much greater than Club Q, and just as dangerous.

That said, the risk of either event is both low and yet appreciable. The risk of deliberate violence should never be downplayed, which is what CNN seems to mistake here,

The shooting, which came two days ahead of Thanksgiving as customers were doing last-minute shopping, is yet another instance of how gun violence erupts in American life in places traditionally seen as safe, from schools to stores and even hospitals.

Places traditionally seen as safe are far from it, we just do not pay attention. They are safe in scale, they are reasonably safe, they certainly aren’t at the risk level of a drug house about to be raided by the police or the streets of Iran filled with protestors. But they are not and never have been ‘safe’ in the objective sense, only in the relative. It can only ever be in the relative sense, true objective safety where nothing bad can occur is impossible.

Yet we still parrot the line and pretend that it is, because it is inconvenient to all involved to worry about the reality that it isn’t.

Should you be concerned about being shot today? Yes. But with very likely the same risk you had yesterday and tomorrow, so take prudent steps. You should also worry about tripping over your pet with very likely the same risk window. That is how risk works.

Club Q: Another Gun Free Government Failure

image of police response at club Q colorado LGBTQ club shooting
image via FoxNews, TreyRuffy/Twitter

I’ve held off writing on this topic as I wanted as much information as feasible to go on before dissecting the midnight assault that killed 5 and wounded 18 in Colorado.

Timeline

11:56pm: A 22 year old man enters club Q with a long gun, probably semi-automatic given the injury counts, and begins firing. He is engaged quickly by club patrons of extraordinary courage and is subdued quickly.

12:00am: Police arrive

12:02am: Shooter is in custody.

This represents one of the quickest resolutions to an attack that we have on record.

Unarmed Resistance to an Armed Assailant

Armed resistance, firing back, was unavailable as an option under Colorado law. A bar is a gun free zone and the only exception would be employed armed security, a facet that would spoil the mood of a club meant to be a carefree safe space for the LGBTQ community. The likelihood of the left leaning LGBTQ club community developing a large enough interest in the profession of arms to harden their clubs and shape the laws to match is unfortunately unlikely. Public spaces, welcoming spaces, are impossible to truly harden.

But the community doesn’t lack courage and even in the face of the attack patrons didn’t wait for another Pulse to happen, where the government delivered an abysmal response to the attack and dozens bled to death.

Instead former Army Major Rich Fierro, Thomas James, and shortly after that one of the performers, closed with the shooter, yanked him down by his cheap armor or vest, and beat him into submission. The cops would be on scene and have the shooter in custody a couple minutes later.

Fierro said he just reacted, he attacked the shooter himself and started giving orders for support. The performer is said to have beat the shooter with a high heel to the face.

If you want to support Fierro after his heroic actions, his wife’s brewery sells pretty awesome merch.

Government Failure

The shooter was arrested the previous summer, 2021, for threatening his mother, law enforcement, and the community with a bomb in a multi-hour standoff with police. However the government did not prosecute any of these charges to a conviction, they dropped them all and to the best of our knowledge didn’t even commit the shooter.

The shooter by all accounts should have been the poster-child for criminal and mental prohibited person, the video of the police stand-off can be found online. But the government did not conclude this case with a prohibiting result. It may have not helped in the end, the shooter may still have had access to weapons, but the government did not put this man in a prison or a sleeveless coat after this incident and another incident occurred. The government didn’t do what they promise is supposed to prevent these events and this time 5 died and 18 were wounded.

The government is once again left holding an empty set of restraints for a person they knew about and the blood splatter upon the government visage is getting abhorrently incompetent. How many times must they fail in their promises?

The Renewed Call for a Ban on Assault Weapons

Despite these very obvious government failures, with an ugly feeling of being repeated, the Biden administration is already calling for the absurdly impossible ban on assault weapons. A ban which the government, with their lengthening list of failures, would be in charge of enforcing. The government which has shown themselves entirely inept in preventing these now wants you to trust them to stop “assault weapons” from doing bad things anymore by just making it more illegal.

They cannot be assed enough to prosecute the far smaller number of problematic people in the nation, but they’ll totally get all the guns. They promise.

The Uvalde Contrast.

It has been pointed out by many that a retired Army Major, an additional patron, and a drag queen did in less than four minutes what nearly 400 officers failed to do.

They did it unarmed too.

You cannot substitute a uniform for the will to act.

The Obvious Question

Motive.

We don’t have one yet. It could be the prominence of LGBTQ, especially Drag shows and their at times inappropriate association with young children in certain locales, media portrayal. Those instances are not the norm for these events, this specific midnight event was all adults and seems to have been rather indiscriminate in the killing. Abortion clinics have seen similar attacks, as have Christmas and Independence Day parades in recent times. No side holds the monopoly on their crazy people willing to go lone-wolf.

We don’t know if this was a target of convenience, a short-term lethal fixation on this topic and group where last year it was a stand-off with the police. This may be a longer and deeper prejudice. It has been noted the shooter’s grandfather is in congress, and a Republican, this has been used to delineate an “obvious” anti-LGBTQ motive putting aside just how different most grandchildren are from their grandparents.

Until and unless we find the rhetoric to support the conclusion that this was directed at the midnight Drag event because it was a Drag event we must remain open to the possibility that the shooter could have been motivated otherwise.

The likeliest theory however is this was a fixation, maybe one of several and unknown whether recently held or longer held. A triggered a violent ideation, not unlike the standoff which we saw from the shooter last year. Like the older abortion clinic attack it could be a retributive ideation, a likely motive, or it could be one more focused on directing attention to the shooter himself, which is also fairly common it attacks like this.

The likeliest, in my opinion, is it is a combination of the two. A delusion of needing to strike against a group that you’ve been told by your pocket “true” media is a threat to people, especially children, and a fixation on being the “hero” in that fight. The other likely scenario is the “fuck it” one where a high profile location, and LGBTQ club doing a Drag show would be among the highest profile locations at present, is chosen because of the coverage, attention, and turmoil it will cause, but without a retributive motive against the LGBTQ group specifically. This is similar in initial efforts to the self staged hate crimes, the location or group is picked to garner the attention, but where the self staged is usually a con for gain (think Jussie Smollett), this is a terror attack for attentions sake.

This could be a hate crime, very easily and very likely. This could also be a crime of attentive convenience, which in many ways is more sinister yet. If it is for attention itself, it plays to the media trends and the likeliest reactions. If this is the case, the current media circus of whether or not this was a hate crime is exactly the chaos and attention he wanted.

What Now

Praise the heroes. Praise Fierro, James, and all those who helped them. Praise the quick response of the police.

Then hold the prosecutor’s office, and the government at large, responsible for their failings. Do not let them sell you their snake oil gun control promise when they can’t be bothered to convict and imprison obviously problematic individuals, it will just be another thing for them to fail at.

A Disturbing Narrative

What I’ve noticed recently in online spaces is the consistent low key assumption by any definable group, whether it’s gamers, gun guys, or gays, that they are in particular being attacked. It is usually just a consequence of both algorithm and mods fighting off the truly abhorrent things that don’t get seen by many, the splash over is hitting legitimate content all the time and those instances get shared within their communities. The community gets more and more righteously indignant with each moderation mistake.

Moderating the online space is hard, ask Elon.

But the consensus of loosely or tightly correlated divisible groups that they are under special attack by the ‘powers that be’ or ‘other group’ seem to be manifesting in the small portion of the population within those groups that will react violently to the conclusion that they are being attacked. It is easy to justify fighting back. Even if they aren’t in objective terms, they believe they are and the belief is enough, in even one person properly motivated, to result in tragedy.

Those sentiments will then, unfortunately garner some portion of sympathy/understanding from their group, who feel attacked, even as they condemn the excess of violence. So both the attacker’s ‘group’ and the attacked ‘group’ feel some form of righteously aggrieved status, compounded by the algorithmically engaged media they are consuming on the subject, and more objective consensus on the event is less likely to result.

The LGBTQ groups and those supporting them are unlikely to see this as anything other than a hate crime, even if there is strong evidence this was an attack motivated by something else.

Conversely groups feeling they are catching the blame for this attack, and who felt in some way righteously aggrieved previously, are less likely to support the conclusion it was a hate crime, even if there is strong evidence to support the conclusion of a hate crime motivation.

The consistent online perception by multiple identifiable spaces, it seem most spaces in fact, that they are the target of discriminatory practices while another space is perceived as receiving special status is negatively contributing to the hostility in this nation between people who should otherwise get along amicably. Even if these people disagree, they should disagree as opponents and not adversaries or enemies. Digital social content, by targeting based upon interest, consequently tends to echo chamber your chosen affiliations.

This became most prominent to me recently as I explored a segment of the formerly religious, these groups of now atheist or agnostic people, with very legitimate grievances against segments of organized religion, also feel an aggrieved online status. The complaints levied by this group about their suppression, shadow bans, etc. could be copied and pasted into a hardline conservative space without edit. The same with gamers, gun guys, gays, streamers, you name the space and they probably have felt pressure.

We need to get some air, touch grass as they say these days. Get away from our algorithmically charged screen time and just hangout with our neighbors and communities. Realize that they are all folks just trying the best they can each day too and that so few of these people around us are actually a problem of any sort beyond the annoyance level.

Sure, evil exists. We saw it here and in the attack prior and in the attack next. We saw it as Putin crossed the border into Ukraine and as Iran open fired on their own people and the Kurds simultaneously. We’ve seen it before and we will see it again, we need to remain ready to punch it or shoot it in its stupid face as appropriate. But it isn’t half the nation. It isn’t half the world. We aren’t alone on these small echo chamber islands, most of us are frustrated by very similar things day in and day out.

We’re human.

Is Slow Smooth and is Smooth Fast?

Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. That little motto, phrase, or whatever has been kicking around for decades. I first heard it when it came to room clearing, but that never made sense to me because we were pressed to move fast and keep the momentum. I had not thought about it for a long time until I joined some firearms groups on Facebook. It seemingly pops up everywhere in these low-information groups, and this got me thinking, is slow smooth, and is smooth fast? 

The idea behind the phrase is that doing something well is faster and more effective than using speed for speed’s sake. A slightly slower draw is better than fumbling a fast draw. That’s the idea, and it seems sound. However, I’ve been thinking about all the times I’ve made gains in my firearm’s proficiency, and I don’t think I was ever going slow, but to be fair, I wasn’t always smooth either. 

I certainly used to believe in that old motto, then I purchased a shot timer. I learned that what feels fast and what is fast are two different things. 

Is Smooth Fast? Is Slow Smooth? 

The saying, slow is smooth, and smooth is fast, is just one take on a number of ways to say the same thing. Doc Holiday once said, “Take your time in a hurry” when asked how to win a fight.

Caesar used to say, “Hasten slowly,” These are both similar sayings, but are they accurate in the world of defensive or competitive gun usage? To a degree, I think they are, but I also think the saying has been watered down and used incorrectly to justify going slow. 

Saying slow is smooth and smooth is fast because you suck at drawing your handgun is an easy excuse. Just because you start slow doesn’t mean you should remain slow. Believe it or not, when you start applying a time standard and trying to work against that standard, you likely won’t be quick. 

That’s okay. If you are always smooth, you aren’t learning anything. Smoothness comes with repetition. You start by going fast and sloppy, and eventually, in training, you’ll get better. You’ll figure out your grip, you’ll get faster at finding your sights, and getting the cover garment high and out of the way. 

Standards 

Is smooth, fast? No, smooth isn’t fast, but fast done correctly becomes smooth. One of the big reasons a timer is so valuable for training is that you are constantly judged. When fast and sloppy eventually becomes fast and smooth, you can move to adjusting the time limit. Now you have to go faster, and going faster means you’ll be a little sloppy again. 

Train to a standard, then tighten that standard

Yet again, fast and sloppy will become fast and smooth when done otherwise correctly. The term progressive overload is one familiar to anyone who lifts weights. You’ll get stronger by lifting more weight. It will be harder, but eventually, it won’t be. The same goes for being fast. No weightlifter has ever said lightweight is heavyweight. That doesn’t mean slow is smooth and smooth is fast should be completely done away with. It should just be examined in the proper context. 

Smooth Is Fast…In Context 

When is it fast? When it comes to the time you spend training then, smooth is slow, and smooth is fast. If you do 100 dry fire strokes a day, you can either speed through them in five minutes, not paying attention to form, trigger press, or stance. Or you can take 15 minutes and ensure every trigger pull is perfect. 

If you purchased an hour of range time and shoot all your ammo up in 20 minutes and achieved nothing, then maybe slowing down and following a training plan would make more sense. It’s not about slowing down your individual actions necessarily, but slowing down and ensuring you’re achieving something with your training. 

I hate absolutes, and there can certainly be a time when slow individual actions apply. If you are a new shooter going slow is smart from a safety perspective. Having a mental checklist of how to properly clear a gun and walking through it isn’t a bad idea. Neither is a mental checklist of how to grip your gun or load it. 

While it’s ‘slow’ against a timer, it’s likely fast for you as a new shooter. If you come to the table with zero experience, then slow and fast are relative. 

Recently I tooled around with an ankle holster. I’ve never seriously used one, so I watched videos, read articles, and drawing and firing for me was quite slow. Although I didn’t try and stay slow and I began moving faster and admittedly got sloppier. 

Starting fast and becoming smooth by moving correctly is much more efficient than going slow, and staying slow because it has more pleasant results or more accurate ones. Sure, you might suck at going fast at first, but if you keep practicing and training, your fast will become smooth. 

Halo Point, Microsoft, and Bad Branding

Today we are diving into the depths of my ammo collection. Among several weird rounds, like a 9mm SMAW spotting rifle round and some Bolo shotgun shells, sits a box of Liberty Halo Point ammunition. I’ve never used Liberty Ammunition, and while I think the rounds are neat, I’ve seen their performance in ballistic gel and have remained unimpressed. 

Why do I own a box of Liberty Ammo, then? Well, because the name and box art captured me, but not in the traditional way. I used to rent bad horror and sci-fi movies based on their awesome box art, but the Halo Point rounds were different. By now, you’ve seen the photo of the Halo Point ammo yourself. 

I was drawn to it because I instantly knew it wouldn’t be around for long. Microsoft was not going to stand for this for long, and I grabbed a box from my FFL and tucked it away, nearly forgetting about it. I recently saw a post discussing Liberty Ammunition in general, and it reminded me of the Halo Point ammo I purchased in 2013. 

Halo Point – What Were They Thinking? 

Liberty Ammunition produces some crazy rounds specifically for the United States military. Supposedly these crazy armor-piercing loads are effective at that task. Eventually, they branched out into the civilian self-defense market with their ultra-lightweight, lead-free hollow points. Or, as they called it, Halo Points. The 9mm projectiles weigh a mere 50 grains. 

Calling it a Halo Point isn’t that big of a deal, necessarily. It’s a play on words, and Halo is traditionally associated with something circular, and the hollow point portion looks different than most. It makes sense for branding reasons to differentiate your already very different round. 

Where it goes off the rails is with the imagery and the text. It’s clearly referencing the video game Halo and the Microsoft series that defined the Xbox series of game consoles. Just look at the font, focus on the O. It’s not inspired, and it’s not a coincidence. Liberty Ammunition is clearly referencing or using the video game Halo. 

So What Happened? 

Halo Point and Microsoft seemed to cross paths when an episode of Discovery Channel’s Dual Survival showed a box of Halo Point ammo. That brought attention to the ammunition and branding. Microsoft certainly didn’t partner with Liberty Ammunition to produce the rounds. 

Liberty Ammunition remained tight-lipped at the time, but Microsoft responded to the small controversy. Microsoft responded in a Kotaku article with the following: 

“Microsoft does not have a licensing agreement with Liberty Ammunition, or any gun or weapons manufacturer, and the company does not have permission to use “Halo” branding on any of its products,” the Microsoft representative told me. “When we discovered the unauthorized use last fall, Microsoft contacted Liberty Ammunition to demand removal of all “Halo” branding from its products and advertising, to which Liberty Ammunition agreed.” 

A cease and desist seemed to end the production of Halo Point ammo and branding.

Halo Point Today 

Halo Point branding is gone, but Liberty Ammunition still produces the exact same load as their Civil Defense branding. I can’t understand what they were trying to do or what they thought would happen. It’s still a bit of interesting history and certainly a head-scratcher as far as I’m concerned. My ammo box will likely never be worth much more than the ammo’s price, but it’s a solid conversation starter. 

DIY Portable Target Stands

One of the greatest things about living in the American west was the fact that one can drive up to BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land and basically set up their own range and shoot whatever and however they want to. They key to making the most of out of these BLM shooting excursions is to have decent infrastructure support gear. If you’re like me, you probably are used to putting everything on the tailgate of your pickup truck while you shoot. I found myself needing target stands for the IPSC targets or sheets of cardboard that I used as backers. Now, it is possible to order some fancy all-metal ones but these target stands will not be cheap nor will they come apart easily. On the flip side, creating some DIY target stands saves you money and affords you an extra amount of portability.

The original plans call for cutting sections of 1 ½ inch diameter PVC pipe into different lengths and assembling them with some pipe tees and elbows. The basic idea is simply to create a base that holds two 1×2” stakes upright like any other target holder. You can either staple your target to the stakes or use those extra large wide metal paper clips (I prefer using those, but don’t miss and shoot them off!) I substituted the PVC pipe for black plastic ABS pipe—it works the same way and the ABS was actually slightly cheaper too.

Materials List:

  • Six 15 inch sections of 1 ½ inch diameter pipe (PVC or ABS)
  • Four PVC or ABS 3-way 1 ½ inch pipe tees
  • One 18 ½ inch section of 1 ½ inch diameter PVC or ABS pipe for the cross member. This cross member can be longer or shorter depending on the target and its backer, but the 18 ½ inch length will work with a standard IPSC target.
  • Two 4 foot sections of 1 x 2 inch wooden stakes.
I spy a target stand in the corner, shooting in one of my old spots out West.

To assemble this target stand, simply connect all pieces of pipe to each three-way tee and connect both halves with the cross member. When the base is assembled, simply shove the wooden stakes directly into it and affix your cardboard backer. I really like this design due to its simplicity and the fact that the materials do not weigh much and are relatively inexpensive. Since the tees and pipes are all friction fit and not permanently glued, it is easy to fully dismantle all base components for storage. The only downside to this design is the fact that the base is light and it will blow over on windy days. To prevent this, I usually put something heavy over the base, like an ammo can or a rock.

2A Case Study: Iran

iranian citizens fire back on government forces during riots, they use weapons they've likely taken from the police

Iran has been in heated protests for 67 Days at this point. It started with the killing of Mahsa Amini by Iran’s ‘Morality Police’ which is always a giant bucket of red flags. We’ve seen efforts of promoting state enforced morality from both sides of our political spectrum here in the US, but our nuttiest tryhards are the mainstay cops in Iran.

Amini had been arrested for refusing to wear a hijab, a head covering worn by Muslim women to conceal their hair. The precise circumstances of Amini’s death are unclear. The Iranian government maintains that she died of a heart attack while in coma at a hospital in the capital city of Tehran, but protesters and critics argue that she was in a coma as a result of beatings and torture endured while in police custody.

They then escalated against protesters by voting to sentence 15,000 of them to death as ‘an example’ of what protesting against the government will result in. The equivalent of their national legislative body voted to execute 15,000 people. They were going to kill half again more people in one go than our average annual homicide number.

Last night government forces in Iran were continuing to suppress dissent with live fire into the protesting crowds. Heavy weapons on vehicles have been brought in and many are dead. The citizens protesting their governments indiscriminate killing by the ‘morality police’ are being indiscriminately killed by the morality police and government forces.

They are being forced to fight back against this with weapons they had to take from those same government forces.

Because of the 2nd Amendment, the likelihood that our government is ever able to approach within shouting distance of this level of tyrannical insanity with either party at the helm is unlikely. It is imperative we maintain the full strength of the 2nd Amendment to continue that assurance.

To recap, the government of a sovereign state in 2022 ordered the deaths of 5,000 more people than are murdered in the United States each year. In one action the government of Iran ordered thousands killed to get them inline with the slaying of woman refusing to put on a scarf. Comparatively in the US in the last 22 years only 85 people at the most per year were killed for capital crimes, in 2022 it is has been only 3 people. 5,000 times more people were sentenced to death by Iran for the act of protesting than for all US Capital punishments delivered this year.

We maintain that balance and respect through the impossibility that the government could successfully prosecute such an act against the people on that scale. The government here is far from perfect, but it is a damnably fine order of magnitude better than other allegedly modern states. We keep it that way by our vigilance to our rights.

The recent UVA and Colorado attacks will come with renewed calls for a national assault weapons ban, the president has already done so with both. This is likely to remain bluster as the House flipped to Republican control and the Senate split evenly or with only a single vote majority. But they will try, they will leverage whatever bloody shirt they feel that they can in order to get another gun control win and try to fortify their 2024 election chances. The Democrats, and therefore gun controllers, dodged a political cannonball this cycle thanks to irate and fatigued voters tired of the meme that a substantial portion of the Republican party has too long held onto. We need to keep riding Bruen to victory after victory in the courts.

The world is teaching us two very dark lessons today. In Ukraine we see the danger of foreign threats, in Iran we see the danger on domestic ones. Our reasonably peaceable society continues to be so at the behest of our readiness to become violent at need. The random attacks, the criminal back and forth, the senseless and juvenile outbursts that cause loss of life cannot be curbed by another gun law, but we can absolutely open ourselves up to the threats we see abroad.

The ultimate law of the world is and always shall remain the ability to bring force to bear, we must work to continue the trend that those with the ability to bring force will first use reason. The best way to maintain that ‘reason first’ approach is to not monopolize legitimate force. The state will always protect the state first. The state being for you now is no guarantee of any future positive efforts. You must always treat the state with the theory in mind of ‘what in this policy can be used against me?’ and then vote and comment to shape the policy accordingly. That is among the largest failings in our current electorate is too much popular voting and not enough critical voting. It won’t be one party good and the other bad, it must be both parties beholden to the constituency or it will be the state crushing the population when it becomes convenient to do so. Anything the state does to a group you happen to disagree with, and thus agree with the state’s actions, they can and will do to you when you end up being that group, so be sure you don’t mind the actions.

Everything is on sale or going to be this week too, just as a point of interest.

Ruger’s Rugged Workhorse

The Ruger P 85 gets respect but no much love!

Some of the younger generation don’t know what this big pistol is on sight. Boat Anchor is among the most flattering terms used to describe the Ruger P85 9mm. Yet Ruger’s first centerfire 9mm has survived the test of time. This is a reliable workhorse you can bet the farm on. The pistol was introduced during the Wonder Nine era. It is a bulky high capacity 9mm with a fifteen round magazine double action first shot trigger and conventional decocker/safety lever. The pistol features a steel slide and aluminum frame. Ruger famously makes use of castings in the design. The pistol is among the last handguns designed to use a swinging link for lockup. The P85 features a captive slide lock. The Ruger locks up by butting the barrel hood into the slide in SIG P220 manner. A long pull of the trigger both cocks and drops the hammer. After the first shot the slide recoils and cocks the hammer for single action shots. The double action press is long and heavy at 14 pounds on the Lyman electronic trigger gauge. The single action trigger press isn’t light but consistent at 6.8 pounds.

Disassembly requires the pistol to be unloaded and the slide locked to the rear. Reach inside the slide and press the ejector downward. Tap the slide lock to the left and the slide may be removed. The recoil spring and guide are easily removed and the barrel then simply falls out. The pistol was introduced in 1985 and competed in military service trails. It was a difficult pistol to find for sale until 1987. Compared to some of the 9mm pistols available at the time the Ruger has proven at least as durable. No domestic self loader of the time is in the class with the Ruger’s reliability. Ergonomics are almost terrible. Since the pistol doesn’t kick much- it is a very light kicker- the grip shape may be worked with. The trigger action isn’t smooth at all. Both SIG and Beretta double action first shot pistols are much smoother in operation and even the fat Beretta grip is handier than the Ruger. The Ruger isn’t as accurate although it is accurate enough for most chores. What the P85 is is reliable and durable in the long term. It is also affordable. It isn’t unusual to find used examples for sale at less than three hundred dollars. This isn’t an out of print pistol particularly sought after but if you need a bag gun truck gun or bug out gun with no likely worries the P85 may fill that bill.

While the pistol is blocky the grip really isn’t that bad. That Rock of Gibraltar slide simply makes the beast top heavy. The sights are good combat sights for the day and offer a decent sight picture. The decocker is safe and handy. The barrel is 4.25 inches long and gets good velocity with most loads. At 32 ounces unloaded it is neither light nor heavy but well balanced. I have fired the pistol a bit over the years and find it accurate enough for most chores. Once the hammer is cocked in the single action mode and you are firing to drop the hammer not having to go through that horrendous double action trigger combat accuracy is good. There is considerable take up and reset isn’t rapid. The double action trigger isn’t impossible. I am able to run through the trigger and get center hits at seven yards. Past that you need to cock the hammer.

The Ruger P85 is a piece of history and long out of production. Just the same despite its ergonomic shortcomings the pistol is reliable and useful. As an example if you handload +P+ 9mm loads or like to load up the Buffalo Bore Outdoorsman for protection when hiking the Ruger will never stutter with such loads. Below are my firing results with a number of modern loads. The groups were fired form a solid bench rest using the MTM K Zone firing rest.

Load                                    Velocity                 5 shot group at 25 yards

  • Winchester 115 gr. Silvertip:         1155 fps                   3.25 inch
  • Winchester 124 grain Defender +P: 1199 fps                   1.9 inch
  • Hornady 124 grain XTP +P:            1166 fps                    2.7 inch
  • Federal 124 grain American Eagle:  1108 fps                    2.8 inch
  • Federal 124 grain Hydra Shock:        1110 fps                  2.6 inch
  • Buffalo Bore 147 gr. Outdoorsman:    987 fps                     2.9 inch

Ask the Armorer: Why is There Wear/Pitting on my AR-15 Buffer?

Short Answer: You more than likely have a burr on the back of your bolt carrier.

Longer answer..

Within the function of the AR-15 the back of the bolt carrier is consistently hitting the buffer each time that the firearm cycles. When a burr is present on the back of the Bolt Carrier Group (BCG), which is normal considering it is a high friction point, this burr will create a pitted look on the buffer. The burr will do this no matter if it is so small that the eye can’t see it or if it is large enough that a swipe with the finger can easily find it.

More Questions

Why are the Burrs In a Circle Pattern?

Every time that the firearm cycles the buffer will often rotate inside the gun. The burr on the carrier will stay in the same spot, however the buffer will rotate causing the wear to be on different parts of the buffer.

Is it the Buffer Retaining Pin?

Oftentimes no, this wear is not a reason to think that your buffer retaining pin is out of spec. If your retaining pin is out of spec if will show when installing the buffer tube, not by wear on the buffer. The buffer does not slam into that pin, but the carrier does slam into the buffer.

The carrier has a slot that the retaining pin goes through each time the carrier pushes back into the buffer tube. The pin is there to retain the buffer and spring during disassembly and that is it. Hell, some dudes even run their guns without buffer retaining pins and they haven’t had one issue.

If you don’t believe me, here is more information from Roger Wang of Forward Controls about the buffer retaining pin only having one job and his reinforced buffer retaining pin product.

“When all the systems in an AR function properly, one could argue that a reinforced buffer retainer isn’t necessary.  We agree, except mix and match parts from different manufacturers and their varying adherence to TDP specs, tolerance stacking is far from the exception.  Many of us have had this inexpensive part break and toss its tip into the lower receiver, usually in the trigger group and cause a jam.  RBF’s billet construction and reinforced tip aim to mitigate this, it could be viewed as cheap insurance, even if the way we make it is anything but cheap.”-Forward Controls Design

How do I find the burr?

To find the burr if it is not seen by the eye simply run your finger over the back of the bolt carrier. If you still can’t find it try using a cotton swab, the lightly bound cotton will catch on the burr and rip off

A worn and burred up carrier.

How do I remove the burr off of the carrier?

Some light filing will do the trick or even crocus cloth. Try to go easy and not remove a lot of metal, just where the burr is.

The Wheeler Professional Gunsmithing File Kit from Gunmagwarehouse includes both rounded and flat files. Obviously you don’t need to go that large and a couple of files can suffice.

Can I continue to run that buffer?

Yes! If the damage isn’t enough to further damage your carrier or the buffer retaining pin or even your own fingers, yes, run the gun.

Block II – The Best M4?

As an armorer I love going down these developmental rabbit holes on why programs came to the forefront and what they all entailed.

The M4A1 SOCOM Block II wasn’t just a freefloated rail on the guns. Daniel Defense, although making a near correct Block II, doesn’t actually since Colt made the guts of the SOCOM guns. Josh, Henry and their guest Jeff Gurwitch get into that.

For those who don’t want to sit through the very entertaining 40 minutes of excellent information, here’s a short take until you do.

The Block II and later the URG-I were attempts by SOCOM to maximize the performance of the M4 for special forces use. The SF groups are obviously operating (pun intended) at a higher level of weapons proficiency than your typical soldier or Marine, even those in ground forces elements.

They had great success by offering improved optics, improved ancillaries, improved ammunition, and the improved uppers to cover down on the configurable nature. They had shooters who could use these at their full performance envelope.

That is one of the reasons the standard M4A1 hasn’t followed the full URG-I update force wide. Most shooters cannot shoot to the enhanced performance envelope because they cannot shoot to the standard one. The standard one is quite good, but since SOCOM was maxing it out, and needing these rifles to do more with less, investing in the SOCOM inventory made sense.

What we received was what would become the foundation for the General Purpose Carbine, a gun that could do a good bit of everything.

Hit play and learn.

Gunday Brunch 77: Choose Your Sources Wisely

Today’s topics: Don’t take self-defense advice from a Power Ranger, we’re never running out of bullets, and birds aren’t real.