Fort Worth, Texas (October 13, 2021) – XS® Sights adds to its many sight offerings for the popular Springfield Armory® Hellcat® series with the addition of DXT2 Big Dot and R3D night sights for the optics-ready Hellcat Micro-Compact OSP. XS sights are visible day and night, thanks to the company’s proprietary Glow Dot technology which activates even before the tritium glows, giving shooters a significant edge when it comes to fast target acquisition in any light.
“We continue to see high demand for our Hellcat compatible sights and are happy to now offer our Big Dot and R3D night sights for the OSP model,” said Addison Monroe, Marketing Manager for XS Sights. “The benefits of our proprietary Glow Dot technology are recognized by new and longtime gun owners alike, and we will continue to roll out new models as quickly as possible to meet dealer and customer demand.”
Both the DXT2 and R3D sets for the Hellcat OSP are XS’s standard height sights. These low-profile sights will lower 1/3rd co-witness with the Shield SMSc® red dot sight as an option for backup iron sights and help users find the red dot more rapidly on the draw.
DXT2 Big Dot The Big Dot sight leads the industry in size and has a self-illuminating tritium center surrounded by XS’s photoluminescent Glow Dot technology which drives focus to the front sight. The V-notch rear has a vertical tritium stripe creating a dot-the-“i” sight picture and eliminating the possibility of confusing the front and rear sights in high-stress situations. Available in Optic Yellow or Optic Orange.
R3D The R3D has a traditional 3-dot tritium, notch and post sight picture. The rear sight is blacked out to increase contrast against the front sight which is available in bright Orange or Green. The brightly colored Glow Dot in the front sight is a much brighter color which differentiates the front tritium dot from the two rear tritium dots.
All XS sights are backed by a 10-year, No Questions Asked Warranty and XS’s 30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee.
About XS Sights XS Sights is known for making the fastest sights in any light. For more than 25 years, the XS team has created some of the most innovative sights on the market today for pistols, rifles and shotguns. Whether used for personal defense or hunting, these sights are designed and built to be the absolute best for their specific purpose. American Made. Texas Proud. 2A Strong.
Yep, tasers. The electric disruption devices used by law enforcement, security personnel, and are unrestricted for ownership in most states with little ill effect, are apparently going to cause a shocking change (pun absolutely intended) to the behavior of Hawaii residents who will now be able to legally possess and carry such a device, like most of the nation already can…
So evidence says this is a non-issue… Lots and lots of evidence. Something like several hundred million people with this legal ability already.
Will there be some misuse? Absolutely. What hasn’t been misused by humanity? What device or rule that can be exploited hasn’t been?
Name one?
I will wait.
Hawaii’s prohibition on such devices did not prevent them, even on an island, from being carried and used. Prohibitions never do, they just impose a harsh penalty for doing so if caught. Ending the prohibition, just like other rule changes in other states, is not going to drastically alter the behavior of your residents. How many criminal cases were make or break in Hawaii on possession of a disruptor being illegal?
Hawaii continues to be a very safe state, with a much lower violent crime rate, that actually fell in 2020 by about 11%, than the nation as a whole. Funny how not having a major urban sprawl and a a population about half that of Chicago (not including the surrounding areas) in a wonderful climate makes for a fairly content populous. Their per capita income is a little higher too, another note factor that makes Hawaii a pretty chill spot.
What about that makeup suddenly makes the police believe the state is going to run amok with taser crimes now that tasers are legal to carry? The people you most need to worry about are the ones who already have them, and probably illegally carry other more lethal tools too. But no, let’s promise that HPD are ‘Gearing Up’ for tasers in January.
Gearing up with what? Rubber suits? Insulated uniforms so they don’t get shocked? How does one ‘gear up’ beyond a bulletin saying that electronic neuromuscular disruptors are now legal to possess and carry, so don’t arrest anyone? Your gear up is a memo. What was the incident rate of officers encountering taser armed folks? What was the incident rate of officers encountering folks armed otherwise? What was their negative outcome rate? What is the projected change for allowing the law abiding to abide by the law carrying disruptors? Criminally assaulting somebody with it is still going to be a crime, just without the extra crime of illegal possession. How does that negatively impact an assault case that you cannot add an illegal possession charge?
These are many questions that come to mind when I hear about cops ‘Gearing Up’ for a non-issue item in many other locations. The same thing that has campus officials losing their minds if concealed carry is permitted upon their hallowed halls of learning causes these reactions. It is pouting, it’s just official pouting and ass covering if a negative effect occurs. But if a negative outcome, like a sexual assault let us say, that could reasonably have been prevented and defended against by a person armed were to happen these people will point to their blue light campus phones and policies that say ‘Remember, Rape Bad. Don’t Do’ as being the best they can do for their campuses.
God forbid someone be empowered to defend their life with the one thing that can absolutely turn the tide, the ability to take the attacker’s.
A comfortable, strongly woven, beautiful blanket…with claymores, helicopters, and old school Colt firearms.
The Throw
From the Website,
“The Vietnam Throw is a concerted effort to recognize our military history, and is a humble nod and thank you to the servicemen who fought in Vietnam. The throw features a Colt XM177E1 and Huey helicopters, along with other items and foliage reminiscent of the Vietnam War.
Our blankets are woven, not printed. The final size of the blanket will be roughly 54″x72″ – they are large enough for a queen bed & perfect for naps on the sofa.
Woven in a small family-owned mill located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. These blankets are made on European Jacquard looms with roughly eight miles of American made 100% Cotton yarn.”
“The second run of blankets are estimated to ship around Thanksgiving (US) week. We are limiting this second run of blankets to approximately 450 throws to ensure that our manufacturer has ample time to manufacture, quality check, and ship them to us so that we can get them out well before the Christmas rush.
International customers: we will be prioritizing your orders to ship first so that you have all odds in your favor for receiving your throw blankets before Christmas. We are also going to be making DHL temporarily available for blanket orders as we will make a drive down (about 60 miles) to the hub for those packages.
Gift orders: We are offering gift-wrap and note services for this second run of orders. If you would not like gift-wrap, but this order IS a gift, please use the order notes to let us know.
As with the previous run of blankets, we will be sending regular updates as well as listing the current status here and on the blog (link to come).
This pre-order phase will run silently (those of you who just wander over here, or have put your email in the out of stock notifications) 10/1 through 10/4, and publicly from 10/5 through 10/18 or until the limited allowance is sold. “
RECOMMENDATION: To ensure that your order is placed in time since they are only doing 450 blankets in this preorder, immediately go to the website and put your email in the email notifications bar. This will also give you a discount code yay! Then, since this article will be posted within the pre-order two dates, just go ahead and order a pre-order HERE. We understand that pre-orders are always sketch. However, trust this one. Kitfox updated us multiple times and are very transparent in their processes.
My Experience
I ordered in the very first pre-order run. I received around 5 emails from Kitfox just giving updates and ensuring that we know that we weren’t forgotten. The last update even allowed us to change the shipping address if we did indeed move. It shipped directly on the day that they stated in the last email as they were tracking the package as well.
I’m in love. It is comfortable and well made. The color palette is a mild palette that allows these images to blend beautifully while not jumping out at you. In my eyes, that makes it special. You have to have a love for the history within the firearms world to truly appreciate the throw. To have to look closely to see every casing in between the ferns and Hueys..
As far as care for it, I was told specifically to wash separately and on gentle cycle. Air dry.
It also came with stickers, a patch, a secret pin (see their Facebook about that) and a coloring poster. Which I was very excited to receive as an extra considering how they first got big. The very popular Firearm Coloring Book.
With everything else going on, you may have missed the Radical Firearms RF/22 – a match-grade long rifle chambered in .22lr.
Here’s what you missed.
The RF/22 was designed with the shooting enthusiast in mind. It’s a sleek, solid, well-designed semi-auto you can use to plink, target-shoot, or bring doom upon the local varmint OPFOR using pretty much any sort of Ruger 10/22 compatible magazine available.
Some of its features include an integrated Picatinny rail, a precision-machined bolt, and a match-grade barrel.
Radical Firearms RF/22 Specs
• Precision CNC machined, heat treated 17-4 barrel mounting V-Block attached via pre-torqued hex screws at 20 inch-pounds.
• Match grade 16” six groove, 1:16 R/H twist, .920 diameter 1/2×28 threaded 4140 CMV steel barrel.
• Featuring a sport chamber, with an 11-degree match crown, fitted with an RF 7075-T6 pepper pot muzzle brake.
• Guaranteed at one minute of angle or better accuracy.
▪ Dual machined internal bolt tracks that eliminate bolt canting and binding, ensuring a precise receiver to bolt fit.
When I was a young man, Germany took the unprecedented path of conducting extensive police trails to choose a modern police sidearm. The new tactical doctrine demanded that the handgun be simple to use and be no manual safety, but good safety features.
The double action first shot SIG P220 was a clear winner. The SIG also met stringent accuracy requirements. The double action first shot SIG has set a standard for reliability and accuracy ever since. The first P220 was a 9mm handgun. Later .38 Super and .45 ACP versions were added. The P220 spawned off other excellent handguns including the P226, P227, P228, and P229.
The double action first shot pistol remains popular with those that value handling and simplicity. The SIG represents the high water mark in double action first shot pistols, also known as DA/SA or TDA. The P220 is a first class .45 ACP pistol with a great deal of history behind it. This is a proven pistol that offers superlative reliability and surprising accuracy. I prefer the .45 ACP cartridge based on modest pressure, a full powder burn, and excellent wound ballistics. The P220 is my favorite SIG and the Legion my favorite P220.
The Legion series offers several important improvements over the standard SIG pistol. These include the Legion Gray PVD finish, a durable and attractive final coating. An extended grip tang, SIG calls an Elite Beavertail, makes for better recoil control. Additionally, the frame is relieved under the trigger guard to lower the bore axis, the grips are nicely checkered G10, and there is custom grade 25 line per inch grip strap checkering. The trigger guard is also checkered. The SRT is an improvement that should be standard on all SIG pistols. This short reset trigger makes for a sharper reset and excellent all around control. The SIG trigger breaks 11 pounds in double action. Single action trigger compression is 4 ¼ pounds.
The pistol is provided with three eight round magazines, a nice touch in a day when many pistols are delivered with a single magazine.
The pistol features the standard SIG frame mounted decocker. This lever is much easier to use quickly and intuitively than a slide mounted decocker. It is common for shooters to ride the thumb on the slide stop during firing resulting in the pistol failing to lock open on the last shot. The SIG Legion features a redesigned slide lock to mitigate that tendency. SIG X-Ray sights are a combination of a serrated rear sight and a bright green roundel in the front sight with a tritium front dot. These are ideal for all around defense use.
Many shooters prefer the safety features and handling of a double action first shot pistol over either the single action 1911 or the striker fired Glock/P320. The pistol may be kept at home ready safely- even under the pillow, a common night time ready mod in my neck of the woods. The SIG P220 is arguably the smoothest of double action pistols and among a very few .45 caliber DA first shot pistols available. I have no reservations concerning the SIG P220 Legion. The P220 has always seemed the best SIG pistol and the P220 Legion the finest P220 yet manufactured.
Firing tests
For this review I loaded the magazines with Winchester 230 grain ball ammunition. The pistol was fired at combat ranges of 5, 7, and 10 yards. Firing double action demands attention to detail. Get on target and make a smooth straight to the rear press. The pistol turned in excellent combat groups. The cadence of fire isn’t set by how quickly you are able to press the trigger but by how quickly you are able to return the sights to the target and control recoil. The pistol is a first class performer in all regards. I also fired a few groups off the benchrest for accuracy testing at 15 yards. I fired three shot groups in respect for the current ammunition shortage.
Here are the results
Load Groups
Winchester 185 grain Silvertip 2.2 in.
Winchester 230 grain USA 1.2 in.
Browning 230 grain JHP 1.55 in.
The P220 is clearly accurate enough for any chore. I ordered the Protective Services Epitome holster from Advancedperformanceshooting.com as a daily carry holster for the P220. This isn’t the lightest pistol and some thought went into the choice. The Epitome isn’t an inside the waistband holster, but is designed to be worn outside the pants and behind the belt. The result is a holster that is concealable under a relatively light covering garment but which offers a sharp draw and good retention. The 15 degree cant makes for a clean draw and the handgun is naturally drawn into the target. This combination makes for an excellent all around daily carry piece when a covering garment is worn.
Specifications
Maker SIG Sauer
Type Double action first shot locked breech self loader
Fort Smith, Arkansas (October 12, 2021)—Umarex USA, innovator, manufacturer, and marketer of airguns, optics, and accessories for outdoor enthusiasts, is thrilled to introduce the first official licensed GLOCK paintball marker. The GLOCK 17 Gen5 T4E is all-new for 2021 and it is available to order. Players can now experience a .43-caliber GLOCK replica developed and manufactured in Germany. The new GLOCK 17 paintball marker is a CO2-powered pistol made for paintball sports and training scenarios.
Paint. Compete. Perform. –The GLOCK 17 Gen5 T4E paintball marker was designed with this tagline in mind. The 8-round magazine, which can hold either paint- or powder balls in caliber .43, also accommodates a 12-gram CO2 cartridge that can be swapped without tools in seconds when on the field. Routine handling and intuitive operation are essential for accuracy. With precise dimensions, the GLOCK 17 Gen5 T4E marker gives you familiar handling, which allows operators to choose from a wide range of accessories and attachments already on the market. The limited First Edition comes in an original GLOCK pistol case and includes four additional backstraps (sizes medium and large, each with and without beavertail).
Gen5-typical features found on the current GLOCK 17 like the ambidextrous slide stop lever, front serrations, and reversible magazine release contribute to an authentic appearance and ensure good handling. The GLOCK 17 Gen5 T4E sets new standards for the mag-fed marker world and its players. This marker’s superior performance is the result of meticulous development work and precision manufacturing, according to our rigorous quality standards – Made in Germany. Make no mistake; the GLOCK 17 Gen5 T4E paintball marker is the game-changing solution the mag-fed paintball world has been yearning for.
Umarex has created a precision, bar-raising, first edition GLOCK paintball marker. The GLOCK 17 Gen5 T4E will be available at paintball and airsoft retailers and the Umarex Airguns web store at an MSRP of $349.99.
Watch the GLOCK 17 Gen5 T4E marker in action here.
About UMAREX USA Umarex USA, Incorporated is one of North America’s fastest growing family-owned outdoor sport and recreation companies. Umarex USA innovates, develops and markets products under brands owned or licensed by its parent company, UMAREX GmbH & Co. KG. Such brands include Axeon® Optics, Beretta®, Browning®, Colt®, Elite Force® Airsoft, GLOCK®, Heckler & Koch®, Hornady®, IWI®, REKT®, Ruger®, RWS®, Smith & Wesson®, T4E™, UMAREX®, Walther® and others. For additional information regarding Umarex USA visit UmarexUSA.info.
Of course you’re aware of Mossberg’s venerable pump shotgun, the 590, that is one of the most popular shotties in history. And by now if you haven’t heard of the “Shockwave” with the “bird’s head grip” that isn’t defined as a shotgun by the ATF because it was made as a pistol and therefore can have a 14-inch barrel without having to be taxed as a short-barreled shotgun–then you’ve been living in communist China. But the only complaint with it–much like all mag-tube-fed shotguns–is that it’s tough to load quickly. Well, no more. The “M” means this 590 is box-magazine fed, so now this 26-inch shotgun that can be stashed in a motorcycle saddlebag, golf bag or boat hold can hold 5, 10, 15 or 20 rounds and be reloaded with as many rounds in a second. Certainly, the 20 round mag makes it gangly, but you get the point. Watch the vid to see JJ put it in action.
Retro Style Photo Of A Police Riot Barrier In Chicago, Illinois
Chicago, Illinois is sitting at 3,084 (as of this moment) shootings in 2021. The city, like many, has had a bad turn in their violent crime in 2020 and 2021. Stemming in large part from their failure to prosecute serious criminal offenses by activist prosecutors and political animals while they blame the ‘proliferation’ of guns.
Of course they blame guns. If they blame letting criminals go it is their fault, and they can’t have that.
But I want to highlight one item in particular that is actually a smart more on the city’s part.
Approaching the violent crime problem from another angle, last month Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) launched “Safe Chicago,” a new program in partnership with the city’s police and fire departments. It calls for the installation of hundreds of “bleeding control kits” throughout public buildings, including City Hall, Chicago Public Library locations, and the Chicago Cultural Center. According to the announcement, the objective is to enable ordinary citizens to treat “life threatening bleeding emergencies” resulting from “falls, penetrating injuries, gunshot wounds and more” pending the arrival of first responders. Each kit consists of “a tourniquet, gauze, shears, gloves and an instruction manual to be used in an emergency” involving up to eight victims.
Speaking about the program, Rich Guidice, the OEMC Executive Director, was quoted as saying that, “we’re doing our best to adapt to the environment that we’re living in.”
Rich, I would say instead that you are waking up to the reality that emergencies happen, injuries happen, and that in the last two decades we have seen the efficacy of having first aid supplies close by benefit the survivability of victims time and time and time again. TQ’s save lives. Being able to control the bleeding of an injury saves lives. Being able to splint, treat for shock, aid breathing or circulation, all of these things save lives.
No, not just for GSWs (Gun Shot Wounds), for accidents and injuries of any source. The quicker someone begins to get triage and care the better their odds of positive outcome, period.
The people best able to aid someone who is grievously injured or having a medical incident are those right there witnessing it, and if they are able to get their hands on the supporting equipment to control life threatening blood loss effectively things are much much brighter for the injured. We deluded ourselves into believing that in the 21st Century, bad things don’t happen because crime rates were lowering and affluence was spreading. But low isn’t gone, and injuries accidental or deliberate are still something that must be addressed swiftly.
We are recognizing the fact of the matter, that our ‘First Responders’ are actually the second line. They respond to the call. They take over the scene. They get their in a hurry and bring specialty equipment to help. But the first responder is us, the folks their on the scene with whatever we have on hand. So if that happens to include a grabbable trauma case because your building thought to stock one? Good.
“Training on AKs, both for learning how to work with them in the shop and on the range has been sorely lacking here in the US. We have military TMs which have data collected by reverse engineering and obtaining technical documents over decades of intelligence gathering – but there is still a lot of “secret sauce” when it comes to the esoteric knowledge of how to run these things. “– Green Ops Student
The Kalashnikov I Class Overview that the AAR is on can be found HERE. Sign up for the next one or keep an eye out for more opportunities.
AAR from a Green Ops Student attending Defensive Kalashnikov I
Note: These photos are not photos of the student writing this article, but are photos of the specific class he took.
“Green Ops put on a Defensive Kalashnikov I class on May 23 at the Stone Quarry range in Culpeper, VA. This was their inaugural class, and I jumped at the chance to get some instruction on the AK platform. I was very happy with the Defensive Carbine I and Tactical Pistol 2-day courses in 2020. I did receive a modest discount for the class based on an AAR I wrote for those aforementioned classes.
A little bit of background on myself: I have been an AK enthusiast for as long as I can remember. The first rifle I ever owned was not the typical Ruger 10/22 or Marlin Model 60, but an Arsenal SLR-106 that I bought when I was of age. The sales guy had given me prescient advice to buy something not chambered in a “Commie caliber” that was sure to be banned at some point. Ha!
Over the past 11 years I have been a professional gunsmith and gradually learned the skills and my shop had acquired tooling for building and servicing the AK platform. I have built and re-built several AK rifles, pistols and SBRs. I even have some experience with select fire variants. I feel I am fairly well-versed in the history, cycle of operations, and fairly knowledgeable about the minutiae of differences in several AK pattern rifles produced by countries around the world, some which no longer exist as they did during the Cold War.
However, everyone knows that working on and collecting guns does not make one proficient with using them. Training, practice and repetition are necessary to use any platform. Training on AKs, both for learning how to work with them in the shop and on the range has been sorely lacking here in the US. We have military TMs which have data collected by reverse engineering and obtaining technical documents over decades of intelligence gathering – but there is still a lot of “secret sauce” when it comes to the esoteric knowledge of how to run these things. YouTube videos of Spetsnaz Operators Shooting over other people’s shoulders and strangling people with slings, using them as human shields are shocking/entertaining to an extent – but real, safe and effective training is hard to come by.
After attending the course last year focused on the AR platform, I began to run my AKs more often during COVID as 7.62x39mm was still available for $0.25-0.35 per round. When Green Ops announced a course, I signed up immediately.
I’ll break down my AAR into the following blocks: Instructors, Equipment, Training Course, My Experience and Feedback.
Instructors: Luke, Josh and Brian. A couple of other guys were there filming footage with drones (which sometimes sound like a swarm of bees if you don’t realize they’re there). If you want to find out about their bios, check out their page here: https://www.green-ops.com/instructors-bios
The instructors stated outright at the beginning of the class that this was the first AK instruction Green Ops had offered, and that due to the nature of the platform and overwhelming preference for AR-pattern rifles – things would be a bit different. Manual of arms differs slightly between variants and magazines used (such those with “Yugo” style “bolt-hold-open” followers) – but that the class would be centered around the standard AKM pattern, using irons or red dot sights. About half of the students were running red dots mounted in various positions, while myself and one other student ran LPVOs (more on that later).
Equipment: First of all – hydration. It was 75F by 9 am and reached the mid-90s by early afternoon. Like most ranges, there isn’t a lick of shade for the most part unless you go into the treeline. Green Ops urged starting hydration the night before with electrolyte-laden beverages and water. I typically drink 3L of water per day as a baseline, but I doubled that and added Pedialyte+. I was glad that I did. It was a scorcher and sunblock was also clutch, although I still managed to get a light roasting on my alabaster-white skin despite constant re-application. You can’t train effectively if you’re dehydrated, exhausted, in pain and/or falling out as a heat casualty. Be prepared. My primary weapon was an Arsenal SAM7SF-84E – a milled receiver slightly modernized variant of the AK-47. It features a tubular stock that folds to the right side of the receiver and is retained by a catch. There is also a safety lever on the left side of the pistol grip that controls the standard selector lever much like those on the legacy Galil rifles. I had removed the cleaning rod as it can improve accuracy slightly as it makes barrel harmonics more consistent based on my experimentation. The standard AK-74 style muzzle brake was replaced with a Definitive Arms Fighter 24 brake, which is half the weight, half the length and actually reduces flash while fighting muzzle climb effectively. My sling was my standard Blue Force Gear Vickers sling with a Uloop up front, and Tier-1 Operator-style paracord rigging to the outboard heel of my buttstock. Weight unloaded: 8 lbs (oof). I ran MAGPUL PMAG 30 rounders and a couple of Hungarian tanker mags for zeroing/prone work.
I ran a Primary Arms SLx 1-6x FFP with ACSS reticle with BDC for 7.62×39/300 Blackout supersonic loads, mounted to RS Regulate side mounts (AKML and AK-303M) with Warne steel low rings. Weight of optic and mount: 28.4 oz. (oof again). I shot a 3-shot 1.3″ group at 100 yds when confirming zero before the class with [formerly] cheapo Wolf 122 gr. FMJ ammo – not too shabby. I did this to see how I’d like running an LPVO, despite knowing we would not be stretching to longer ranges.
I ran my HSGI SGPB with long Esstac KYWI AK mag pouches, HSGI taco pistol pouches, HSGI dump pouch, IFAK, G-Code RTI belt hanger with PHLster Floodlight and a large radio pouch for admin/random stuff. I carried my G45 MOS with Holosun 504C but we did not run any pistol transitions from what I recall. I wore PIG gloves throughout as you should always run an AK with gloves if possible due to the hot handguards/gas tube and sometimes sharp edges on the selector lever and top cover. I ran some knee pads as well.
Training Course:The class introduced themselves – and as one might expect, there was a wide swath of different rifles in all sorts of different setups. Students ranged from experienced enthusiasts to novices who had bought their first AK rifle within a week or two of the class. After the standard instructor intros and safety briefing, there was a brief class on the history of the AK platform. There are dozens of books and probably decades of documentaries and YouTube videos about them, so I appreciated a concise version.
Then we got into zeroing. I say zeroing, not confirming zero because students were all over the map. This was compounded by people running a combo of various optics or iron sights. Those who had done their homework and printed a nice group off the bat got to hang out for about an hour while the stragglers were brought up to speed. The instructors did their best to manage this but it is really not their job to help you zero your weapon. Rant: Showing up with something not set up or at least somewhat close, potentially needing some fine tuning for elevation to use a different distance for zeroing wastes your time and everyone else’s. It’s a dick move. It was beyond frustrating to the people who came prepared as they knew this was eating into valuable drill/repetition time, which is the whole point of such a course. PLEASE do the right thing and come with your gear set up, you will be happier and so will everyone else (rant over). That being said, the instructors got participants to an acceptable zero and we continued on.
Instruction ran the gamut from basics of setup of the rifles, the best methods for mounting optics, and operation of the rifle as an AKM with a standard selector lever. Ready up drills were covered to get warmed up and acquainted with the operation of the safety and getting rounds on target. Some standing/kneeling/prone transition drills were worked on as well. As always, Green Ops instructors stressed the importance of getting comfortable shooting in as many positions as possible, and also transitioning SAFELY between positions. Standing up before checking your surroundings can be disastrous, and this is something I always appreciate. No one needs unintended holes punched in them. Reloading techniques were covered, with several different styles. Students were encouraged to try the different evolutions to see what worked best for them and their setup. Having the optic mount on the left side of the receiver forced me out of my comfort zone and taught me a technique that ended up being faster for me than anything I’d tried before. This is why I come to class!
Several other drills were run as the day progressed in the late spring heat. My favorite part of the course was running up and shooting from cover behind the VTAC barricades. This is always a rewarding training opportunity as you have to really work hard to stay behind cover, be aware of your muzzle and make hits as targets are called out quickly. Doing this at the end of the day with new knowledge and while a little fatigued really shakes out your bad habits. Every shooter makes mistakes and thinks about what to work on on their next attempt, or at home/on their range on their own time.
Training was wrapped up with the qualification – which is always a huge challenge but a lot of fun. Going up against the clock against myself, but also other students that you’ve bonded with and worked with throughout the day is always a good thing. The goal this day was to shoot the qual clean, with less attention placed on time. In my fatigued state, the LPVO was tough to deal with at closer range. I was getting sloppy and the 10 pounds of rifle and optic were getting heavy in my hands. I pulled a few shots but otherwise did ok. The other guy running an LPVO did manage to shoot it clean! It’s good to see at least one student reach the bar as it proves the qual is challenging but achievable.
My Experience: The biggest takeaways for me from this class were some fresh takes on reload drills, and practice on the range. I love that VTAC barricade, and some day I’m going to find a range where I can do more work on it more often. For now, I’m mostly confined to indoor shooting lanes and getting creative with dry fire and gun handling at home.
The LPVO on the AK is viable, but slow to difficult to use at close range (duh). It adds almost TWO POUNDS of weight to an already heavy rifle – but this for me was a proof of concept of optics on an AK period. Would my optic retain zero? Could I use it effectively at all? Absolutely. The Primary Arms FFP ACSS reticle is AWESOME. The only gripe I have about it is in bright sunlight, the illuminated reticle is really not worth using, but that’s minor. Turn it off and you have a nice crisp black reticle to work with. The RS Regulate mount is unparalleled in my opinion, and I use it to run a much lighter weight Holosun 403C on my 12.5″ 7.62×39 AK, which is MUCH lighter and handier for close work.
Feedback: The Green Ops guys are great. There was some discussion/disagreement on what zero distance to use – as people were shooting different calibers, barrel lengths, optics etc. I would suggest the cadre come up with some solid recommendations for the most common configurations to help people who need assistance here. Sending this advice a few weeks before class would give people time to get ready. I use the following site and book for my zeroing info:
Accidental gun deaths are low and have been falling for decades. There is no doubt that firearm ownership imposes serious safety challenges for gun owners so that owners must act responsibly to ensure their own safety as well as the safety of their family, neighbors, and community.
Thanks to a strong culture of safety in the firearms community, gun accidents are rare. In the past five years (2015-2019), the most recent years statistics are available, 11 Canadians died each year from an accidental firearms injury.
Annual Accidental Deaths
2000-2004
2015-2019
Firearms
26
11
Pedal cycling
65
56
Boating
86
51
ATV
153
158
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0156-01 Deaths, by cause, Chapter XX: External causes of morbidity and mortality (V01 to Y89)
Accidental deaths of any kind are particularly tragic because it’s easy to imagine they could have been avoided. Each death is a grievous loss, but out of an estimated 4 million gun owners, these low numbers are pretty impressive. These statistics imply firearms owners are responsible and conscientious citizens.
Low and declining
This is less than half the number of accidental deaths in the early 2000s when 26 people lost their lives through firearms accidents. The most likely explanation for the continued drop is the strong culture of safety that hunting and shooting organizations inculcate in gun owners. Some have claimed that the recent drop is due to a decline in the number of firearms owners. This does not appear to be the case. PALS have increased 18% since 2007. This year was picked in order to capture the natural growth rate. There was a rapid increase in PAL holders during first few years of the PAL program (which began in 2001) because the first few years the statistics were inflated by the millions of Canadians who were required to get a licence for the first time.
A North American culture of safety
A similar pattern is seen in the United States thanks to a strong culture of safety both countries share, promoted by NSSF, NRA, and hunting organizations such as the IHEA. The age-adjusted rate of unintentional firearm deaths was low in 1999 (0.29 per 100,000 population) and fell even further to just 0.15 per 100,000 population in 2019, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Anti-gun activists exaggerate the risks of firearms in order to evoke public support for additional restrictions on civilian firearms. Ill-trained public health activists publish pseudo-scientific studies that torture statistics to exaggerate the dangers of civilian firearms ownership. Such efforts look misplaced compared with casualty rates for other popular activities.
Thanks to a variety of voluntary organizations, a culture of safety has become widespread in many activities, but shooting and hunting organizations deserve particular credit. The numbers of firearms accidents have been falling for decades. Back in the 1950s, before hunting organizations convinced provincial governments to introduce mandatory hunting safety courses, on average, 166 people lost their lives due to accidental firearms deaths each year.
During the 1960s, Canadian hunter organizations ramped up efforts to teach firearms safety, introducing voluntary courses and pressuring provincial governments to mandate safety courses as part of hunting licences. Almost all provincial governments began requiring hunters to take firearms safety courses in the 1970s as part of hunter safety training. Alberta was an exception, requiring firearm safety classes in 1964. Canada’s territorial governments quickly followed the provinces. The results are readily seen in the plummeting frequencies of accidental deaths in the graph. Hunter safety courses are mandatory or strongly encouraged in all provinces and territories in Canada. In BC, Alberta, and Ontario, for example.
Comparative Accident Rates
Raw death counts do not tell the entire story. These comparisons may exaggerate the safety of firearms ownership because these other activities have more participants than hunting and shooting.
To understand the relative dangerousness of an activity, it is necessary to know how many people engage in it. However, accurately estimating the number of Canadians involved in each of these activities is quite challenging. The deaths per 100,000 persons is based on the best estimates I could find for owners or those otherwise involved with each activity.
Annual Accidental Deaths per 100,000 Owner/User Population
Deaths / 100 K user [2015-2019]
Estimated Size of User / Owner Population
Gun owners
0.28
4 Million [2019]
Pedal cyclists
0.47
12 Million [2013/14]
Boaters
0.40
12.4 Million [2019]
ATV users
2.51
6.3 Million [2018]
Sources for estimates for numbers of Canadian owners or involved in each activity:
The evidence shows that both American and Canadian firearms owners are responsible and safety conscious. Widespread ownership of firearms is integral to the North American Model of Wildlife Management, which was clearly formulated by professor Val Geist. This implies widespread training in firearms safety. Since early in the 20th Century, firearms organizations have worked diligently to educate their members and the public about how to safely handle firearms. Mandatory hunter safety courses in both Canada and the United States came into existence thanks to the lobbying efforts of a number of firearms organizations, including the National Rifle Association.
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— Gary Mauser, PhD is professor emeritus in the Institute for Canadian Urban Research Studies and the Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia. He specializes in criminology and economics, has published extensively on firearms legislation, firearms and violence, and has provided expert testimony on criminal justice issues to the Canadian government.
Sig Sauer has pulled out of SHOT Show 2022. One of the largest showcase displayers of the NSSF’s annual trade show will not attend, instead making a donation. This could set the trend in the industry as SHOT Show’s fate for 2022 is far from certain with continuing coronavirus restrictions.
SIG SAUER, Inc. is proud to be an ardent supporter of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and leads the industry in support of the organization and its’ mission to promote, protect, and preserve the hunting and shooting sports.
Each January, NSSF hosts SHOT Show – the industry’s premier tradeshow. As a strong supporter of NSSF, and an industry leading manufacturer, SIG has maintained a very large presence at SHOT Show and we continually grow our support for the organization, and our show presence, year after year. However, after thoughtful consideration, deliberation and a review of current circumstances, SIG SAUER has made the decision to not exhibit at the upcoming 2022 SHOT Show and will alternatively be making a $500,000 donation to NSSF to support both its mission and ongoing critical support of our industry.
For over 30 years SIG SAUER has attended SHOT Show, and we did not come to this decision without much thoughtful deliberation. Our number one priority throughout the pandemic has been, and will remain, our employees. SIG SAUER has an extremely large presence at SHOT Show sending over 140 employees to the show and our pre-show Range Day event. Maintaining this presence, or even a scaled back minimum presence for 2022, represents a significant health risk to all 2,600 of our employees across our 13 U.S. locations, as individuals attending the show return to our facilities and risk continued exposure to our entire employee base.
Additionally, based on the circumstances as they are known to us today, it is incumbent upon us to review this decision from a financial perspective. For the first time in many years, the SHOT Show space was redrafted, necessitating the need for a complete booth re-configuration and design. Out of pocket expenses from this point forward will be well over $1 million and based on the uncertainty of large scale shows and events, this expense is not financially prudent.
In closing, SIG SAUER would like to once again note the important and essential work of the NSSF on behalf of our industry and reiterate our support for the organization and its mission.
It was only a few years ago that we were laughing at the media’s coverage of the Civil War in Syria as some knucklehead shared footage from KCR’s nightshoot (pictured, the 2021 night shoot).
But now, after 25 years and 50 total events, the shoot is coming to an end. Knob Creek isn’t the only MG shoot in the nation but it was one well wet up as an exchange and good times event.
Rolling in is like going to the county fair, but with tracer rounds, and the tables are stocked full of stuff… so much stuff… like lots and lots and lots of stuff.
Stuff is the perfect word. Shit is not the word, there is too much of crazy random value there, but guns and gear certainly doesn’t cover it nearly well enough either.
Find an HK416D (full-auto) casually chilling next to a couple BCM lower receiver kits? Yep.
Find a ‘Street Sweeper’ shotgun and an auto P90, both letter transferable and nicely priced, on the next table right by a stack of mundane uppers for sale without BCG or charging handles? Check.
30mm Prototype Cannon laying vertically in the corner? Got it.
And, of course, a bevy of fully transferables and law letter transferable NFA select-fires. Some really cool, some in great fresh off the wrack shape, some in rougher condition.
Turn out?
Absolutely. To the fences. Packed.
Wait times could reach 3-4 hours to get into the venue and vehicles were parked outwards of a mile from the access road and folks walked in. The range was hoping with a shoot every 45 minutes roughly. There is a lower range where we could rent all the normal handheld type items. The upper range would occasionally roll larger items.
“Larger items”
This was the ultimate ‘mag dump into trash’ event. It is pure turn money into noise and fun. And it was absolutely packed with people wanting to see the final send off. For this is the last one at KCR, the event organizers are tired after doing it for 25 years and I don’t blame them. The logistics of these events are absolutely exhausting.
That said, there will probably be another swap meet or event that springs up somewhere sometime in the future. The market for fun and full-autos is still alive and well. You never know when you’ll walk by a table full of SCAR SBR barrels for a damn good price… and then run back later to get them and they’ve sold because of course they have.
I did leave with a couple new toys, a healthy respect for ear protection, and wishing the ammo market would come down a little in price because bulk buying even at good prices ‘for today’ is rough on the checking account.
Overall, good times were had. Deals were made. Stuff got blown up.
The answer of course, is yes. But I wanted to revisit this concept, since the last time I worked on it was several years ago, and I wanted to break out some concepts with a little bit more detail than I previously had.
[Ed: A deep dive into the newest data from prisoners who have committed violent crimes. Rather enlightening, though I suspect that more used guns during crimes than admitted to it. Original is from the October 4 SCOPE-NY email, which will get posted here.]
Gun control politicians, at both the federal and state level, are salivating at the opportunity to use government resources in the name of public health to finance studies critical of the 2nd Amendment. Before wasting more of our tax dollars on propaganda, they should read the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics Survey of Prison inmates.
Defenders of the 2nd Amendment will find it interesting and gun control advocates will want to ignore it. In the section, “Sources and Uses of Firearms Involved in Crimes: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016”, it investigated state and federal prisoners’ possessing firearms during the commission of a crime.
“About 29% of state and 36% of federal prisoners serving time for a violent offense possessed a gun during the offense”. (About three fourths of these actually used it).
Comment: Only between one-third and one -quarter of violent criminals (who got caught) used a firearm. Therefore, two thirds or more used something other than a firearm when committing the crime. (See FBI report later in this Article.)
“About 21% of state and 20% of federal prisoners said they possessed a gun during their offense” (both violent and non-violent offenses included here).
“Handguns were by far the most common type of firearm possessed or used by prisoners during the crime for which they were sentenced. About 18% of all state and federal prisoners (violent and non-violent crimes) in 2016 reported that they had possessed a handgun during the crime for which they were serving a sentence. Two percent or fewer possessed a rifle or a shotgun. Most state (79%) and federal (80%) prisoners did not possess any type of firearm during the crime for which they were imprisoned.
Here’s a summary of the above data on prisoners at the state and federal level serving time for both violent and non-violent crimes:
80% did not possess a firearm
20% possessed a firearm
18% had a handgun
1% had a shotgun
1% had a rifle
Note: about two-thirds of them actually used the firearm during the crime.
Comment: 1% of all the criminals in prison who were surveyed used some sort of rifle. The AR 15 Modern Sporting Rifle is derided by gun control addicts as an Assault Rifle and subject to multiple laws and proposed laws…and yet it was used by less than 1% of all criminals.
“Among prisoners who possessed a gun during their offense, 90% did not obtain it from a retail source”.
Here is a breakdown of where the criminals obtained the firearm:
43.2% off the street or from the black market
25.3% from an individual
10.1% at retail 8.2% at retail from an FFL 1.9 at retail from a private seller or unknown. (“0.8% obtained it at a gun show”.)
6.4% from burglary
15.0% other
Comment: Only 10.1% of firearms used in crime were obtained using legal means. But the gun control advocates spend their resources on creating more impediments to legally obtaining a firearm, while not creating impediments to the biggest problem, illegally obtained firearms. Perhaps their goal is not crime control but removing all legal firearm possession from law abiding citizens?
Male prisoners were more likely than female prisoners to have possessed a firearm during their crime.
Blacks were the most likely to use a firearm and whites were the least likely to use a firearm.
The use of a firearm in a crime declined with age.
From the FBI report, “Crime in the U.S. 2018”, from 2014 through 2018, the following was the breakdown in murders:
Comment: In all years, rifles were used less in murders than either knives/cutting instruments or blunt objects such as hammers or personal weapons such as hands and fists. And yet, the left-wing political leaders still focus on the AR 15
While we are writing about sources of guns, the following was published by the Associated Press on June 21, 2021 – about two months before billions of dollars in military equipment was left in Afghanistan for the Taliban:
“…at least 1,900 U.S. military firearms were lost or stolen during the 2010’s, with some resurfacing in violent crimes…AP’s total is a certain undercount”.
“Government records covering the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force show pistols, machine guns, shotguns and automatic assault rifles have vanished from armories, supply warehouses, Navy warships, firing ranges and other places where they were used, stored or transported. These weapons of war disappeared because of unlocked doors, sleeping troops, a surveillance system that didn’t record, break-ins and other security lapses that, until now, have not been publicly reported.”
In fairness to accuracy, the billions left in Afghanistan weren’t all firearms. Helicopters, drones, vehicles, etc. were also left. According to a Forbes article on August 23rd, 356,000 rifles of all sorts were left and the lowest priced were $749 so the rifles loss was “only” somewhere in excess of $266 million.
The same government that wants to deny you your constitutional rights has managed to arm one of the world’s worst terrorist organizations. Will the Taliban subject their soldiers to a NICS check before arming them with US rifles?
The choice of any given gun without context and then criticizing another’s choice without context is poor form. Someone saying you should be running a full size P320 with a dot and a X300U and two spare magazines on or you’re just [stupid, unprepared, don’t know _______] or some other variant of ‘my rig is superior to your rig’ is discounting one of the most crucial aspects of picking one…
Your day to day lifestyle.
Your carry needs to integrate conveniently enough into your day-to-day that it becomes an easy habit. For some of us our lives are permissive enough that any choice would work. I can carry that P320 with light and optic, I have. It isn’t an overly difficult thing to do comfortably.
But these days you’ll catch me schlepping a P365 with the longer 12 round grip module and the stock night sights and maybe a spare mag… maybe.
Why?
What changed from P320X300U507CX2 to P365?
I tried the P365 and it was comfy. Simple as that.
In all reality the P320 wasn’t ever strongly in the EDC rotation. My P229 was, and that isn’t wearing a dot or light either. It was simply the comfiest handgun I owned that I shot well. My day-to-day is largely 9-to-5 in a casual office environment dealing with business clients via electronic means and sitting next to a giant hosting farm of servers. Our door is RFID access locked. My most common interactions are with USPS, UPS, and FedEx.
The long, short, and anywhere in between of it is that there is no pressing need for me to upgun to something where a light and dot if I don’t want to. I can, I have, and I maintain the ability to do so is a very smart idea, but it isn’t my daily option.
Some of the best shooters I know who run some of the best guns and can make them work like a well oiled machine carry a j-frame. That is it. A pocket light, some medical stuff, their wallet, and a small comfortable pistol of some form.
Why?
Rule 1. Carry a gun.
Key emphasis on a.
This only has two caveats, or addendums is perhaps the term. It is a gun that youcan run and a gun that does run. If it is reliable and you are reliable with it, good. Primary requirement met. This is far and away the single most important item in carrying. Just like driving, can you drive that vehicle and does the vehicle drive?
Every additional consideration is a balance in additional capabilities vs additional inconvenience as you are adding size, weight, holster restrictions, ancillaries, and so forth to the equation.
Going from my P229, a 15 shot 9mm, to a P365, a 12 shot 9mm, didn’t drastically change what I can do with my carry gun. The carry gun is there to get me out of the sudden close contact fight and the-hell-outta-dodge. If I foresee a situation where I believe I need a larger pistol with more capabilities, I will bring that gun. If I run into a situation where that setup up would have been useful and I don’t have it? Well, tough tamales for me then.
The short short short version is that I am not regularly in areas where a larger handgun with more capacity or a light would benefit my expected out comes. Especially since I carry an administrative pocket light if I am in a situation requiring additional illumination for PID on a threat. Is that ‘ideal’? No, it takes away one hand on the gun but the realistic odds of me being in a illumination situation where I am so unsure of PID that I need to bring in the pocket light to the gun and not the gun to the light are slim.
Meaning, I am much more likely to be using the light and need to draw the gun, something I practice, than need the gun and suddenly need the light for PID on a threat I already felt the necessity of drawing my gun against.
So what I am saying is…
What I am saying is if you are carrying a gun with a light (or spare mag or other value add ancillaires), good. You aren’t wrong to do so. But if you do not carry those and someone is seriously giving you the ‘you’ll be killed in the streets!‘ treatment, one of you is delusional… and it isn’t you.
Without additional environmental context, like you working at night, you often are out in the dark after hours, or your commute happens in the dark, it makes no significant difference to your outcomes if you have a light or not on your weapon. Especially not compared to your ability to draw and effectively get on target, deliver shots, address injuries, and continue working to solve your problem. Your Streamlight or Surefire was not make or break if you were significantly impaired in any of the former situations.
Priorities of focus.
Run an effective gun, meaning you and the gun
Consider ancillaries in the capacity they will influence your probability of a positive outcome.
So go with what you will reliably bring with you all the time that you can.
