Train, train, train. We should all be so lucky to get out there and train in a broad degree of different skills. Recently, Safariland hosted an event in Central Florida that gave a lucky few gunwriters a chance to train with Rich Graham and his crew at Full Spectrum Warriors. We covered a wide variety of topics, including a hearty course in weapon retention from both Safariland and Rich Graham. Safariland focused on the holster aspect of retention, and Mr. Graham and the company focused on the practical steps that shooters can take to keep their weapons.
Full Spectrum Warrior’s focus on weapon retention was built on three different stages of training. We had to prevent takes from the holster, fighting over the gun that was already out of the holster, and how to employ the weapon as an impact weapon in extreme close-quarters combat. We trained at the Full Spectrum Warrior facility, which was a sprawling training environment hidden down a couple of miles of dirt road. The hidden little deep woods facility has everything from vehicle courses to a shoot house and even an obstacle course.
The Retention – The Art of Holding On
As one would expect, the training used Safariland holsters. We used inert training tools in the shape of firearms that were locked into the holsters well. Our first bit of instruction was based on keeping the gun inside the holster.
Rich explained that the Safariland retention devices were capable of keeping the gun in the holster as long as we kept the bad guy away from the gun. Instead of focusing on putting both hands over the weapon for retention, we focused on physically dissuading a grab through avoidance and simple but efficient strikes, as well as control techniques against an opponent.
There was a big focus on keeping the holster on the opposite side of the attacker and preventing bear hugs and similar disarmament techniques. We paired up and practiced the basic techniques at increasingly higher speed and force. Not a single inert training firearm was removed from a holster. In fact, my partner and I fought so hard over the gun we ended up breaking the ALS lever on a holster—but the gun never left the holster.
Our combative techniques were very simple but also effective. They didn’t require hours of training to understand and master, which I think is the perfect technique for most people. It’s simple, with a focus on forcefully dissuading the grab while creating distance to allow firearm use.
Retention and A Gun In The Hand
The next part of our training started with one shooter having the gun in hand and the other person attempting to grab it. We were not necessarily trained in disarms but were taught how they work purely for the act of resisting the disarm. This portion of the training was broken into two parts. The first technique involved a shooter pointing the weapon and a bad guy grabbing the gun.
The shooter was then taught how to use leverage to go with the take and reposition their body and arm to provide the most resistance against the grab. Once the proper position was established, we were taught a push or pull technique to free the gun from the grab and engage the threat.
The second part was pure wrestling for the gun. We took it to the ground, and each student got a hand on the weapon. The shooter started with their hand on the grip, and then the taker grabbed wherever they wished. Then, the two students or an instructor and student went at it. It was a fight and a good one.
During this entire portion of retention training, Rich commented on and directed the students on how to resist certain grabs, takes, and tactics. You can’t predict or explain every scenario as an instructor, so taking every opportunity to point out strategies and techniques in the randomness of a fight or struggle paid off.
Pistol-Whipping
The last part of the retention class focused on using the weapon as a striking tool. We didn’t practice on each other but used padded boards to strike. The focus was on how to use the weapon to strike, which I referred to as professional pistol whipping.
It was explained that using a gun as an impact weapon is a very niche thing to do but gives you an option if a shot simply isn’t available or if you’re wrestling over the weapon and have the opportunity to.
The real focus was striking with the weapon, then creating distance so the gun could be fired. It was simple and a good way to end a sweaty, dirty class.
Full Spectrum Warriors
The material presented was very easy to understand, and Graham and the crew took their time breaking down each portion of each drill and technique. Questions were considered and answered throughout the class. Graham was never afraid to stop and put himself in the middle of the action, either. He’d demonstrate or even be the class dummy for demonstrations.
The Full Spectrum Warriors facility and staff were top-notch, and I plan to use a variety of techniques and practices to keep training and stay sharp. The company mostly trains law enforcement, but if you can find your way into the occasional open class, I would highly recommend it.
My relationship with Glock pistols is complicated: I called the Glock 19 unremarkable. (There’s actually nothing wrong with them, and let’s face it, the 5th-gens are pretty damn good). Still, on the face of it, they’re not terribly exciting. But take that same gun, add half an inch to the grip and 1 ½ inches to the slide and barrel, and the end result is arguably one of the coolest Glock pistols of all time: The Glock 34. The experience instantly gets amplified from zero to hero.
In spite of the 34’s downsides, like its blocky Glock 17-style ergonomics and “mid” triggers, Glock 34s shoot like damn laser beams. Because of this, they inspire confidence in the shooter’s hand, too. It’s no different than the feeling you get from holding a tuned 2011 or 1911. Psychology, after all, is an important facet of higher-level shooting. How one feels while shooting critically can and will affect performance.
Technically, I’m not sure if it’s the Glock 34’s sight-radius, longer barrel, or what. But there’s something about them. Like they say in France, “je-ne-sais-quoi.” From a catalog of soulless plastic, this one has soul and is actually cool.
Mine and a friend’s Gen 3/4 Glock 34s, from back in the day. Both my carry and training guns are in this picture.
Enough about emotions, dear reader. It’s also my job to look over and write about different handguns. If you follow my work, you’ll notice that I have a type–full-size performance-oriented handguns. I’m truly blessed to shoot and try out many wonderful pistols, and I think the ol’ Glock 34 still holds its own today, too.
Origins Of The Glock 34
Originally developed for action-pistol sports, the Glock 34 takes the standard full-size frame found in the Glock 17 and marries it to a 5.5-inch barrel (and longer slide). Other than some of their more unique physical and technical aspects, Glock 34s have an identical layout to Glock 17s (and these days, the rest of the line-up of 9mm pistols with full-size grips like the Glock 47 and 45). The original Glock 34, which belonged to the third-generation style of Glock pistols, first saw the light of day at the tail end of the 1990s.
Gen 5
Like the rest of the flagship 9mm lineup, the Glock 34 jumped into the “fourth generation.” Years later, in 2017, when the fifth-generation models made their initial debut with the Glock 17 and 19, the 5th-gen Glock 34 followed suit a few months later during SHOT Show 2018.
Not only was it one of the first catalog items to get the 5th-gen treatment besides the 17/19, but the fifth-generation Glock 34 was also one of the earliest optics-ready modern product 9mm pistols on the market. All fifth-gen Glock 34s include a slide with the Austrian company’s MOS cut.
The Glock 34’s additional overall length gives the gun a longer sight radius. In the case of sporting ammunition, the longer barrel allows certain loads to develop enough muzzle velocity to make power-factor as well. Think of the well-loved 147-grain bullet loaded with 3.3 grains of Titegroup, for example.
Not only will it make minor power-factor with the 34’s barrel length, but it has that gentle recoil impulse sport-shooters love. In the tactical and training realms, these guns will handle damn near anything that’s cycled through them. I used to load mine with 147-grain HSTs.
One of my old Gen4 34s, this one wore the TTI F/O sight sets, which is still one of the best ones money can buy for 9mm Glocks.
Jumping From Practical To Tactical
Although the Glock 34 was conceived with sport-shooters in mind, it didn’t take long before serious ‘tactically-minded’ shooters got ahold of them and began fielding them. Their full-size shootability and long-sight radius lend themselves well to more than mere IPSC paper targets and steel poppers. Its overall profile also matched that of the full-size government-framed 1911 pistol, which, at the time the Glock 34 was launched, was still the pistol.
Amongst the tactical crowd, the Glock 34 arguably peaked during the 2010s–prior to slide-mounted red dots becoming commonplace and rendering the additional sight radius less important. But during its golden age, these longslide pistols became a status symbol in their own way. In this sense, 34s weren’t much different than the single-stack .45-caliber 1911 before them or the double-stack 9mm 1911 with dots after them.
In fairness, the Glock 34 hasn’t completely disappeared from this realm either, especially the current generation models mounted with reflex sights. It’s not unusual to see them at high-end training events and action-pistol weekend matches alike. They’re still very much viable 9mm pistols in 2024.
The Glock 34 In Popular And Contemporary Culture
Further reinforcing its “serious-professional” undertones, the Glock 34 is cast alongside memorable and enigmatic characters like Denzel Washinston’s John Creasy in Man On Fire. In this 2004 film, his signature sidearm is a third-generation Glock 34. And Creasy’s character isn’t a light one, either. The plot alludes to his background as a highly-trained man with specialized skills.
Similarly, in John Wick 2, the main character, played by Keanu Reeves, also fields a Glock 34, albeit one worked over by Taran Tactical Innovations. And we all know John Wick’s background.
Creasy contemplating life while staring at his sidearm during one of the more dramatic scenes in Man On Fire. (imagesource)
Outside of the silver screen, we can observe Ben Stoeger working with Glock 34s in present-day in between training periods that don’t include his beloved CZ Shadow 2s or other handguns. The same goes for several other GM/high-level shooters. Gabe White, one of the foremost handgun instructors on the West Coast, also made a name for himself with an older 34 back in the day.
The Glock 34 In Present Day
My experiences with Glock 34s date to a few years back, and both of mine used to be fourth-generation models. This is why I’ll cop to being somewhat biased in their favor. I had many early milestones in shooting and training back when I started carrying and using those 4th-gen Glock 34s.
Ironically, when the fifth-generation Glock 45 launched, I ditched those old Glock 34s. Not only was the 45 fully ambidextrous and smoother for me to run, but the shorter slide actually reciprocates faster because it’s smaller and lighter. In spite of those wonderful memories with those older 34s, I had no compunction selling and moving on to a gun I could handle more smoothly. Being left-handed and switching to fifth-generation models is a no-brainer.
However, the 34 found its way back into my life after coming across two different like-new fifth-generation MOS models. One of them wears a Forward Controls Design Glock MOS to RMR plate and a Trijicon SRO. The other now has XS Sights’ new fiber-optic iron sights and a Glock Performance Trigger. This Glock 34 is going to be the test-bed for my reviews of those two accessories.
Last year, shooting the other 34 (with the SRO) in between testing and evaluating the Canik Rival-S and CZ Shadow 2 made me realize that the Glock 34’s magic is still alive and well. It never left, and in fact, with all of the fifth-generation upgrades, it shoots better than ever before. Even amongst a crowded field full of worthy contenders.
Reptilia is a fairly young company with a specialty in optics mounts for all manner of LPVOs, red-dot sights, traditional riflescopes, etc. Reptilia’s founder, Eric Burt who is an experienced engineer by trade, ended up designing his first sets of mounts and accessories by serendipity. After his initial success with his oddball project, it led to another…and another…and another. In short, all of these projects eventually led to Repitilia’s creation of comprehensive optics mount systems such as the Reptilia AUS.
For 2024, Reptilia has begun to give its customers more of the choices they were requesting including taller 1.70” and 1.93” height mounts that dovetail nicely with many modern optics and modern carbine shooting techniques.
From Our Friends At Athlon Outdoors:
Key features of the new 1.93″ height
Precision elevation: The increased height of 1.93 inches allows shooters to achieve optimal eye relief and sight picture alignment with greater comfort when mounting optics on rifles.
Durability and stability: Built with robust materials, 7075-T6 Aluminum, and precision engineering, the AUS Mount ensures steadfast stability and reliability in any shooting environment.
Compatibility: The new height option seamlessly integrates with Reptilia AUS Mount components, offering effortless installation and compatibility with a wide range of rifle platforms.
Whether for competition, tactical operations, or recreational shooting, the Reptilia AUS Mounting System continues to set the standard for excellence in firearm accessories. The addition of the 1.93″ height option further solidifies its position as the go-to choice for discerning shooters seeking uncompromising performance.
For more information on all the optics mounts and accessories offered, please visit Reptilia.
I’m a fan of spaces between words. Something about basic English appeals to me, and companies like SIG Sauer seem to hate them. Companies like Live Fire Training also hate spaces, so we get the Type3MalfunctionRound. That’s their spelling, and while it’s not attractive to look at, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. The Type3MalfunctionRound from a little company called Live Fire Tactical Training is a very simple and affordable training tool to sharpen your skills in fixing malfunctions.
We live in a day and age where guns are reliable—super reliable. Even affordable firearms tend to be quite reliable. It’s rare that you have to practice clearing malfunctions these days. With that in mind, the Type3MalfunctionRound is here to induce malfunctions on demand. Snap Caps can give you that tap, rack, bang training, but as the name implies, this round forces you to practice your type 3 malfunctions.
If you’re new to this game, a type 3 malfunction is a complicated malfunction. It’s one that requires you to remove the magazine, work the charging handle, reload, and start firing. These aren’t always simple, and in the modern era, they are so rare that you may never encounter one. Due to their complicated nature, being skilled in identifying and rectifying a type 3 malfunction is a valuable skill to have.
Breaking Down the Type3MalfunctionRound
The Type3MalfunctionRound proves that good training doesn’t have to be expensive. For 20 to 25 dollars, you can get five of these rounds. The pistol rounds are the cheaper option and come in 9mm, .45 ACP, .40 S&W, and .380 ACP. There is one rifle caliber, and that’s .223, which is the Type3MalfunctionRound I tested and utilized.
Live Fire Tactical Training makes these devices from a pretty simple polymer material. They are bright red and instantly identifiable as dummy rounds. The body of the Type3MalfunctionRound looks like a dummy round, but when you get to the head of the cartridge, it turns into a spoon-like shape. This is where you get your serious malfunction from. It can’t be chambered and creates the malfunction. It’s ridiculously simple, and I can’t believe no one had thought of it before.
Getting Reps In
There are two ways you can use the tool. You can mix it in with dry fire and get your malfunction drills in with ease. They pair well with snap caps and dummy rounds. Just toss them in the mag and get after it. Dry Fire is excellent, but the name Live Fire Training means something. You can mix the Type3MalfunctionRound with live ammo and hit the range. They fit between individual rounds in the magazine without a problem.
If you can randomly load the dummy rounds into a live magazine, you can induce a complicated malfunction while training. An expected surprise means you’ll get the practice of rectifying a malfunction, identifying it, and reacting to it. You can form your tactics, techniques, and procedures, but for me, when I identify a type 3 malfunction, I find cover and then rectify the situation. The Type3MalfunctionRound helps me build the habit of identifying, taking cover, and fixing the malfunctions.
These things work each and every time they feed from the magazine. By work, I mean they create a pain-in-the-ass malfunction in my firearm that I am forced to fix. They work, and as long as they don’t sit at the bottom of your magazine, they won’t cause any other reliability issues with the rest of the ammo in the magazine.
The Best Things Are Simple
The Type3MalfunctionRounds are an efficient and affordable training tool that’s tough to beat. Getting skilled at fixing malfunctions isn’t easy, but it is a necessary evil. They are well made, but the polymer design does make these tools a bit of a disposable item. Polymer hitting steel over and over will eventually cause the rounds to break down. It’s not a huge deal since they are affordable, and you have five of them.
As far as tools go, they are a great investment. I didn’t realize just how much I suck at clearing complicated malfunctions. It’s been so long since I’ve had one that I completely neglected practicing fixing the malfunctions. These days I don’t go and shoot my ARs without one Type3MalfunctionRound handy.
Social Temperature is kind of self-explanatory, but I think it warrants touching on.
The TL;DR version is that anywhere you are there is a base level of social interaction. Once you get acclimated to that, your brain can better filter out what info it can ignore and what info is worth paying attention to for potential problems.
I think this is important because a lot of people harp on “situational awareness” but don’t really delve into the details of what that process looks like. To the uninitiated, they think that can mean eyeballing everyone around you and doing a full threat evaluation. This is unrealistic and emotionally draining. Not to mention, if you eyeball the wrong person in the wrong way, it has a real probability of increasing that social friction we’re trying to avoid.
Once you’ve taken a Shivworks class where they discuss Managing Unknown Contacts or avail yourself of the resources that actually address threat recognition (Claude Werner, William Aprill, John Hearne, off the top of my head), you realize that the goal is to learn better what you can safely ignore. That frees up your processing speed for the novel stimuli that actually warrant more attention.
I got a Glock 43X a few years ago, and I have become a bigger and bigger fan of the gun every month that passes. It brings you a slim, easy-to-carry pistol with Glock reliability and capability. I often joke that the mix of a long grip and a short barrel makes it the Central A/C of handguns. It’s comfortable to carry and comfortable to shoot. I like the little gun so much that I even used it as a base for a PDW Project. The downside is the 10-round capacity, but that might be cured by the PSA Micro Dagger mags.
The Micro Dagger Mags Mean More Ammo
I wasn’t the only one who had this problem, and the market took note. Shield Arms produced some metal magazines that were capable of holding 15 rounds. I’ve used them and think they work great, but they do require you to swap your magazine release, or the magazines will eat it up. It’s a pain, and the Shield mags can be tough to find in stock. I had heard of the Micro Dagger but honestly didn’t know that it utilized Glock 43X and G48 pattern magazines, and I didn’t know they held 15 rounds either.
The next fact that took me by surprise was that they were a polymer and metal hybrid design. This polymer, metal design allows for 15 rounds of capacity but doesn’t require you to swap your magazine release. It won’t eat at your magazine release and won’t cause your gun to fall apart.
Once that all became evident, I had five of them showing up at my house before I could say nay. At 30 bucks a pop, they aren’t the cheapest option, but they also aren’t that expensive. If they worked, I’ve solved my biggest issue with the Glock 43X. If not, I still have the OEM option.
First Impressions
Lo and behold I arrived home from work to find a bundle of joy in the form of some ammo and my mags! In all my excitement I couldn’t wait to hit the range and find out if these things work. As I unwrapped them I didn’t find myself all that impressed. The magazines looked rough. There was some clear flashing left over on the mags. Full on strings of the stuff on the front of the magazine, and around the magazine latch.
I broke them open, and there were rough burrs of plastic inside the magazines. I used a file and precision knife to clean them up. I blew them out with some canned air and reassembled the magazines. Admittedly, I didn’t have a lot of hope, but I loaded each magazine and hit the range. These magazines just so happened to coincide with my PDW testing, which involved the Glock 43X. This gave me a two-for-one in testing and made my ammo go a little further.
To The Range With the Micro Dagger Mags
The Micro Dagger mags are tough to load. Getting rounds one through thirteen into the gun wasn’t bad, but rounds 14 and 15 were a thumb wrestling match. You really gotta shove and fight, but my arthritis wasn’t too bad, so I managed. With the magazines fully loaded, they could be inserted fairly easily into a Glock 43X with the slide forward. They don’t slide in as smoothly as the OEM models, but a slight thump sends them home and locks them in.
The next thing I could do was start throwing lead and throw it I did. I exercised my reloads and let those mags hit the dirt when empty. I wasn’t gentle, and I didn’t clean them. Five Micro Dagger mags of 15 rounds went flawlessly, and so did the next 60 rounds. It was in the third 60 rounds I ran into one magazine that failed to lock the slide open when the last round was fired. I know for an absolute fact that my thumb wasn’t riding the slide lock.
I marked that magazine to keep an eye on it. In the next 60 rounds, I ran into that issue again, but it was a different magazine. This time, my thumb could have been riding the slide lock, but I don’t think so. I marked that mag as well. Afterward, I loaded all five magazines, one round each, and fired them. I repeated the test over and over. It wasn’t a consistent problem, but it did occur with my two marked magazines every so often. The other three were problem-free.
Worth the Squeeze?
The Micro Dagger mags seem to be an interesting conundrum. They are rough, and I think cleaning them up helped a fair bit. They had no problems feeding, but the occasional failure to lock the slide back is interesting. I’m going to file a bit around the front of the feed lips to see if there is a burr I can remove that might be preventing the follower from reaching the top spot.
For me, they work and I won’t feel shy about carrying them. I do suggest you do your own testing with the Micro Dagger mags and make sure yours work well. I’m not confident enough to blindly trust them, but they can be a seemingly awesome option as long as you do your homework.
Whether it’s Brioni, Boresight, Bentley, or Breitling, there’s always going to be a high-dollar option that begs the question, “Is it worth it?”
The answer, as with many things, is “it depends.” Entry-level buyers are less likely to appreciate the quality and performance offered by higher-dollar offerings right out of the gate, but they can still have decided benefits.
Buying Clothes That Offer the Best Value
Unlike custom guns or luxury Swiss watches, clothing tends not to have the same resale value. This is something that a savvy consumer can leverage to their advantage.
If someone gave you the chance to buy a Knights SR15 or Chambers 1911 for 20 cents on the dollar, the only question you’d be asking is “Do you want that in hundreds or twenties?”
Even if dress clothes aren’t on your radar, stuff like Red Wings & Duluth can still be had at a pretty steep discount if you buy second-hand. This gives you the option of keeping the same budget for clothing but maintaining a better cost-per-wear ratio.
Most dudes hate shopping and doubly so hate shopping for clothing. So why not do it in a way that helps reduce the need to go more frequently?
There are a few articles of clothing that I view as disposable: Undershirts, white dress shirts, and t-shirts/henleys being at the top of that list. Mostly because they tend to show wear & discolor so rapidly that I can’t justify spending a bunch of money on them since I generally have to replace that stuff yearly, regardless of how high quality it may be, in part because my body chemistry is such that I just tarnish the hell out of white fabrics.
The point is that it helps to know what to look out for so that when those hidden gems cross your path, you know what to jump on.
I recently wrote a two-part article on the Judge Home Defender patterns and whether it’s acceptable to use with buckshot. The original Judge and even the 6-inch version were lacking when it came to proper patterns for buckshot. I never liked the Judge, but I was willing to try the Home Defender. A reader pointed out that I should test the Home Defender against a smoothbore .410 shotgun, so I did just that with a load of .410 buckshot to see which was better.
.410 Buckshot Testing Parameters
Mossberg recently expanded the 590 series to include both 20 gauge and .410 bore guns. Mossberg happily sent me one of the .410 variants, and with its short barrel and cylinder choke, I figured it would work well as a testing standard. I also went with a Remington Home Defense .410 load. It’s a 3-inch buckshot load with five pellets of 000 buckshot.
This is one of my favorite loads of buckshot and is perfect for home defense. Its five meaty pellets give you more than half the lead of your average 12-gauge option. My target would be a slightly smaller IPSC A-zone on a plain piece of printer paper. I patterned five times from each gun at 10 yards and took pictures of both the best and worst patterns.
Patterning .410 Buckshot
The results were somewhat surprising. The best pattern came from the Mossberg 590, but the worst one also came from the Mossberg 590. I’m not sure what happened.
It must have been a freak occurrence because only two pellets hit the paper and were spread way far apart.
I’m betting something was wrong with how it was loaded from the factory because it was a freak occurrence. The second worst pattern is to put three pellets into one hole and two on the sides.
With that said, take a peek at how the Judge Home Defender patterned .410 buckshot. The worst pattern was still inside the IPSC A-Zone rectangle. It’s really not a bad pattern for a rifled barrel.
The 590’s might be slightly better, but the Home Defender is perfectly acceptable for home defense.
Velocity Matters
To be a pistol, it has to have a rifled barrel. Rifling plays weirdly with shot and that was often thought to be the reason the Judge series of revolvers always had such terrible patterns. However, I do know that velocity affects shot dispersal.
Too much velocity can create a wider pattern. A 1,600-feet-per-second buckshot load will spread faster than a 1,200-feet-per-second load. Even with something like the Flitecontrol wad of the Versatite wad, it isn’t immune to this problem.
If too much velocity can be a problem, then maybe too little velocity can be an issue. Shotguns aren’t sensitive to velocity like rifles. But if you trim the barrel down to 3 inches, I imagine there is a considerable velocity difference. Mixing rifling with a lack of velocity likely affects the patterns.
The longer barrel of the Home Defender is still rifled, but it’s long enough to get some excellent velocity out of your shotshells. When it comes to .410 buckshot, we can see this new Judge has the ability to create an acceptable pattern at home defense ranges, even when compared to a standard smoothbore shotgun.
Caleb puts on a great course. He’s entertaining and engaging and presents the material in a way that’s super approachable and relatable.
This isn’t a comprehensive 2-day trauma class. Instead, Caleb just gets down to the essential nuts & bolts of what you need to know to treat wounds from a violent encounter.
It’s detailed without being clinical, and Caleb is very adept at forcing you to think about what you’re doing instead of just responding on autopilot.
This 1-day, classroom-only version of the material is well worth the time, whether it’s your first medical class or you need a refresher because it’s been a while.
About Lone Star Medics
From the Website:
“Winning the fight is just the beginning; especially if you’ve sustained injuries. This course is specifically designed to teach the legally armed civilian or the armed professional, how to identify and treat immediate life-threatening injuries as a result of a violent attack. Most EMS agencies’ policies for responding to violent calls or events require all responding units to stage at a safe location, far enough away from danger so that the police can secure the scene first. During that time you will need to employ the tactical medical skills learned in this course in order to increase your chances of survival.
Throughout this course, students will learn via hands-on skills practice, scenario-based training, and minimal lectures. Scenarios will be conducted using inert training aids such as “blue guns” or SIRT training pistols. Likewise, each student will be exposed to several different tactical medicine manufacturers’ products to use in class. This helps students become educated consumers and allows for unbiased opinions on which medical gear best suits their needs.
Some of the subjects covered in class
Medical and legal issues
Principles of Tactical Medicine
Manual Patient Drags & Carries
Patient Assessment Techniques
Hemorrhage Control Techniques
Tourniquets
Pressure Dressings
Hemostatic Agents/Adjuncts
Identify and treat penetrating chest trauma
Identify and treat for shock
Active killer and mass casualty considerations
Medical equipment selection and carry techniques for Every Day Carry (EDC)
There was a meme floating around the gunosphere regarding getting a free box of obscure ammo and using that as an excuse to purchase a gun. The punch line is that you can never find another box of that ammo, so you sell the gun for a loss. I’m in that meme, and I don’t like it! It’s completely true. My local gun store gave me a box of .32 S&W. Not .32 S&W Long, but the original .32 S&W. I had a box and needed a gun, and what do you know, I stumbled across the Iver Johnson 55-SA. Little did I know that his gun and caliber would charm me to no end.
Iver Johnson is an interesting company or was. They are all but a name these days. Iver Johnson used to be a bicycle and arms company. They really had some synergy going back in the old days. In terms of firearms, the Iver Johnson brand became well-known for its affordable double-action revolvers. A gun like the Safety Automatic, which was a revolver, and the Iver Johnson Safety Hammerless. These were small, pocket-sized double-action revolvers that were known for their affordability.
In the 1970s, the Iver Johnson brand was still pumping over revolvers. They stuck to somewhat obscure calibers, like .32 S&W and .38 S&W. They also produced a number of rimfire revolvers. Iver Johnson stuck to their reputation for affordable firearms, and 55-SA was no different. These came in both .38 S&W and .32 S&W and were available with a black or nickel finish. To be clear, the Iver Johnson 55-SA can fire both the .32 S&W and .32 S&W Long.
Breaking Down the 55-SA
These guns were well known for their affordability. We really don’t understand how good we have it. Back in the 1970s, handguns were expensive. When you adjust their cost with inflation, a barebones S&W costs nearly a thousand dollars. You can get an M&P for less than $600 today. Plus, there were nowhere near as many affordable firearm brands. Guns like the 55-SA were important to those with only a little cash to spend.
The little 55-SA was outdated in the mid-70s. It used a double-action design but lacked a side-ejecting cylinder. Instead, the gun had a loading gate like a single-action revolver. The gun is very simple, with a trench rear sight and a ramping front sight. Cheap plastic grips occupy the rear of the gun. The nickel finish is cheap and just waiting to start flecking. In fact, this model is in quite nice shape compared to other guns on the market.
The Iver Johnson 55-SA delivers a double action pull and gives you a nice big hammer to cock if you prefer the single action pull. In fact, you just might because the hammer in its downward position blocks the use of the rear trench sight. You can see the big ramping front sight, but no trench is present.
The gun has a 2.5-inch barrel and a rather small frame. Its grip is awkward and feels far from ergonomic, but it works. Iver Johnson chose to go with a huge trigger guard for one reason or another. It seems a bit large for a gun meant to be small. Finally, you can remove the cylinder and use the removable rod to punch out spent cartridges.
To The Range
That one box of .32 S&W Short waited for me, and so did some MagTech .32 S&W Long. The little gun holds five rounds of .32 S&W Short, and loading is easy enough. I was slightly nervous. It’s an old gun designed to be cheap, but it also looks and feels like it is in excellent condition. It just so happened to be love at first shot.
The little .32 S&W cartridge handles a lot like a rimfire pistol. It barely moves, and the little bark barely registers. The .32 S&W Short is no man-stopper. I wouldn’t trust it for self-defense, but I guess it was better than a sharp stick and harsh language. The .32 S&W Long didn’t throw much more recoil but would be the natural option for self-defense if this gun was your only choice. The old .32 S&W Long can just make it deep enough to matter with an FMJ load.
The 55-SA has a long, heavy double-action trigger, but it’s pretty smooth. It won’t win awards, but I can easily hit a 10-inch gong at 15 yards. The hammer blocking the rear sight causes the most issues, and single action makes shooting the gun accurately much easier.
I only fired 50 rounds of .32 S&W and 50 rounds of .32 S&W Long, but they all fired reliably. The little gun barked with each and every shot, and a ding from steel followed most of them.
The Little Iver Johnson
The Iver Johnson 55-SA provided folks on a budget with a somewhat compact option. Back in the 1970s, it likely rode in the glove box or in the nightstands of tons of people. Rarely shot, but it was always appreciated for the piece of mind it brought.
If you’re already part of the training circuit, you probably have your packing list dialed in. However, if you are new to training, learning how to gear up for a class is important. Over the course of my training career (as a student) I’ve developed some best practices and tips that I thought I’d share.
Gear Up for a Class: A Primer
I start by talking about inert training gear because I genuinely feel it’s essential for anyone who carries defensive tools. The only way to truly know if your choices work is to test them against resisting opposition. Dummy guns, training knives, and inert OC allow you to do this safely and repeatedly.
If it’s financially doable, having a dedicated training pistol is useful. Not only does it reduce wear and tear on your carry gun, but in the unlikely event that you do experience a mechanical failure, you’ve got a backup on hand so that you don’t miss out on the class.
Speaking of missing out, bringing food so that you don’t have to run by a drive-thru will allow you to get more facetime with the instructor. There’s a big difference between “war stories” used to build up the instructor’s ego and professional anecdotes that are relevant to the course material. That being said, I’ve never really experienced the former. All the “back in the day” or “no shit, there I was” stories I’ve been present for have been applicable on some level.
Being able to refer back to the material covered has been invaluable for me, so I’ll always recommend having a notebook and taking as much video as the instructor is cool with.
Plan for inclement weather. There’s nothing noble about suffering. The more uncomfortable you are, the more distracted you’ll be, and the less material you’ll be able to absorb. “Toughing it out” is grossly overrated, especially when you’re paying to be there. So, take the appropriate steps to ensure you’re suitably warm, dry, etc.
It’s always a good idea to have “training clothes,” the same way you have a training gun. This allows you to go closer to 100% without risking damage to your street clothes.
For our third installment of the PDW Project, we are examining chassis systems that attach to a firearm. These kits include options like the Roni systems, the KPOS, the RT 20/20, and even the Flux Raider, to a small degree. My test sample today is an RT 20/20 attached to a Glock 43X. I’ve also added a red dot with Recover Tactical’s red dot mount. The RT 20/20 setup appears to be the best of the affordable systems, but does it compare to something like the more expensive Flux Defense Raider?
Benefits of Chassis Systems
Chassis Sytems allow you to use a weapon you already have. This prevents you from needing to purchase a secondary weapon to act as a PDW. Some systems even allow you to quickly attach the gun to the chassis and rock and roll on the fly. These systems are everywhere and are available for a wide variety of firearms, so finding one isn’t tough.
Chassis systems can be very compact and often feature folding stocks or braces that shrink the system to a very manageable size. In addition, chassis systems typically allow you to mount all manner of lights, optics, and accessories onto the system for enhanced usefulness in a variety of situations. Most of the optic mounts allow for a non-reciprocating optic, which makes it easier to track the red dot and land shots even faster.
Downsides to Chassis Systems
The first big downside is that as soon as the gun is removed from the chassis system, it loses zero. Not entirely, but the zero shifts cause, in my experience, only one of these systems will hold a true zero with the weapon removed from the chassis, and that’s the Flux system.
Even if the gun remains unremoved, there are often problems with having a consistent zero. These chassis systems are made from polymer and often feature a ton of flex. If you apply pressure, the optic can move and make the reticle shift several inches depending on how much pressure is applied when shooting versus when the system is zeroed.
Chassis Systems In Action
Like before, I took the RT 20/20-equipped Glock 43X, ran several drills, and tested for accuracy. I wanted to measure its ability to increase my accuracy and control, as well as how fast it could be deployed and put into action.
Deployment
The deployment drill tests my ability to get the gun from the bag and up and on target with one shot fired. I used the Vertx ReadyPack and started with an empty chamber. If I carried this PDW, I would do so with an empty chamber since I have nothing to protect the trigger. With the weapon ready and the bag over a single shoulder, I started.
I was able to deploy the system in 6.5 seconds on average. I got as fast as six seconds, but never much slower than 6.5. It’s fairly quick, but it would be faster if I could start with a round-chambered. The system flies out of the bag, making it easy to get on target quickly. A red dot is an absolute must-have.
Control
To test my ability to control the chassis system as a PDW, I shot a modified Bill Drill. I started at 15 yards instead of seven and used an IPSC A-zone as my target. While I can shoot the gun fast, controlling the recoil and shooting accurately is tough. The flex between the brace and the chassis frame moves the system, which throws off my zero. I can get the six shots fired in less than two seconds, but I can’t guarantee where they will be.
Accuracy
Accuracy is a real mixed bag with the RT 20/20. As long as I apply no rearward pressure and mitigate recoil, I can easily hit targets at 25 and 50 yards. However, if I try to shoot a little faster than slow and control recoil, the accuracy is everywhere. It can be very accurate, but the flex is too much to use combatively. Maybe I need to zero with all the flex taken out and have it locked down.
The Flux Defense Raider is one system that isn’t affected by this issue. They’ve mastered this PDW-type chassis, and it’s capable of excellent accuracy, in my experience.
Chassis Pistol Overall
My experience with the RT 20/20 reflects the same experience I’ve had with most chassis systems. It works, mostly, but I don’t think it’s the best option to take to a gunfight. My experience with these systems includes all the big names. The only one I would trust my life to is the Flux Defense system. I think the chassis systems have great potential, but only Flux has managed to pull one off that works well.
Mike Green has spent a bunch of time overseas, in plain clothes. He worked in environments where being armed was somewhere on the spectrum between unusual and unacceptable. Sounds a lot like the civilian context. And that’s the main reason I signed up for this class.
This isn’t SFAS. Nobody’s yelling at you or making you do push-ups, and it’s not designed to turn you into a steely-eyed gunfighter. The curriculum is based on the same material that Mike uses to get diplomatic staff and other OCONUS State Department-type folks to a capable level with a handgun, should the need arise.
Mike also draws from his overseas experience to discuss the mechanics of concealment. I liked that his block on gear selection focuses as much on clothing and how to wear it correctly as it does on gun and holster choice.
Day 1 aggressively focused on the gritty details of shooting mechanics and demonstrations of what matters when and why. Every single exercise is shot from concealment. This is an even more challenging prospect when you’re wearing three layers to deal with the sub-30-degree temperatures and wet weather. This culminated with a practical exercise in the form of a USPSA stage.
Day 2 built off of Day 1’s foundation and started incorporating more complexity in terms of movement, positional shooting, and support hand manipulations. What’s interesting is that all of the “skill tests” that are used are rooted heavily in competition shooting.
On Sunday, Mike Jones and his Garand Thumb team dropped their XM7 review.
It is as close as we can get to the military rifle and ammunition. The properly loaded bi-metal cases and a round ‘close’ to one we could see in use—solid copper. The EPR projectiles of the M855A1, M80A1, and M(whatever this gets designated) are under wraps and unobtainium at this point.
But, like other commercial ammunitions to military equivalents we can still get good data and extrapolate.
The ammunition has always been the coolest part of the NGSW program—in my opinion—since the case allows the user to play with pressures we haven’t been able to with brass or soft steel.
Mike mentions that the XM7 is now the M7. However, I haven’t seen any official US DoD literature confirming the full adoption. It is being more widely fielded and displayed. I’ve even seen units local with the Guard.
Official fielding is listed as 1st Bat, 506th of the 101st Airborne, but I have heard rumors that it’s being unboxed and fielded with other units, too. Rollouts are often chaotic.
But it is looking like the 7 and the 250 are sticking around. We will see if the USMC shifts to the 7, or a variant thereof, and the 250 in the upcoming months and years. The Marines thus far seem comfortable with the 5.56 M27. However, the shift for them would be much less jarring as the M27 and the M7 are much closer in weight and size. Currently, the option remains open, but the Marines like their H&K.
During the era of full-caliber military battle rifles, no other standard-issue military rifle had iron sights like the M1 Garand. Even though the M1 Garand’s primary purpose was to serve as an infantryman’s rifle with a real-world 3-6 MOA accuracy potential, its sights were still fully adjustable, more precise than they needed to be and maybe even overbuilt. That’s why I think they’re so wonderful.
Considering the M1’s overall build quality, smoothness, semi-automatic action, and relatively comfortable furniture, I already consider it the Cadillac of World War II rifles. Then factor in its sights and their functionality, and they’re easily the cherry on top. The entire rear sight assembly is fully adjustable for both windage and elevation, while the front blade can also be drifted laterally for windage. This allows any rifleman to precisely adjust their rifle’s mechanical zero with a given load.
Considering how imprecise military weapons are, I’ve always found the M1’s sights fascinating. Are they perhaps a little over the top on a standard military rifle? Probably. But this is America and we’re dealing with one of the most American rifles ever to be fielded. In America, we do things because we can.
When I was younger, I also learned the basis of centerfire rifle shooting on my old WWII-era M1 Garand—which could be a story unto itself. It certainly ties into my fondness for the M1’s sights, too.
In practice, it’s no different than zeroing a riflescope to a particular rifle and cartridge and then locking the turrets to their zero setting after that initial adjustment.
M1 Garand Background
The M1 Garand was designed by John Cantius Garand, a French-Canadian engineer who worked at the Springfield Armory arsenal. The M1 Garand’s semi-automatic action uses a long-stroke piston mechanism and holds 8 .30-06 cartridges that are loaded with en-bloc clips into its internal magazine. After cycling the 8th round, the rifle also ejects the empty en-bloc clip, famously making that distinctive pinging sound that has become a meme unto itself.
Garand’s prototype for a semi-automatic military rifle was based on an earlier semi-automatic French design, the Mlle. 1917. If Mr. Garand and his team had their way, the M1 rifle would have held ten rounds of the sleeker, shorter, and more efficient .276 Pedersen (7x51mm) experimental rifle cartridge (.277 Fury vs 7.62mm NATO anyone?).
Instead of a 7mm bore rifle, the conservative-minded powers stipulated that the M1 Garand remain chambered for the .30-06 cartridge, which was flush in the government’s inventory.
The Sighting System
The M1 Garand’s front and rear sights consist of a rear aperture and a guarded front blade. The rear sight is guarded by pair of distinctive circular knobs on either side that turn to adjust the rear sight’s windage and elevation adjustments. These knobs have a click value of 1 MOA per click, fairly precise for an infantry rifle of the era.
The front blade is also protected by a pair of ears that curve out, and the entire assembly slides laterally on a dovetail across the front sight base, which is part of the rifle’s gas tube. The front sight itself is secured by a 3/16″ Allen screw. On the rear, the receiver itself even has etched-in hashmarks to measure windage movement against the rear sight assembly.
The M1’s sight picture itself is easily recognizable; it’s practically the same sight picture of any standard iron-sighted AR-15 pattern firearm. Once properly zeroed and adjusted, M1 Garand sights are very intuitive to use. The shooter simply looks through the rear aperture and their brain and eyes seemingly center the front sight itself through the aperture.
As long as the sights are properly zeroed and the shooter knows how many clicks to dial for their distance, one physically doesn’t need to do much besides center the front sight in the middle of the aperture. This is what makes this sight picture so wonderful and superior to most others. It’s worth pointing out that classic AR-15 pattern iron sights borrow their sight picture from the M1, too.
Sight Adjustments
The real magic in these military rifle sights comes from how adjustable they are. Besides the rear windage and elevation knobs’ click value of 1 MOA, the fact that the front sight itself slides on a separate dovetail gives the rifleman a more refined chance to zero their specific Garand to the load they’re shooting.
The idea behind the front sight sliding on the dovetail is to establish a perfect mechanical zero while leaving the rear sight’s own windage properly centered. This allows the shooter to dial for windage and elevation with their rear sight only while ensuring that the rifle itself is properly indexed and zeroed. In practice, it’s no different than zeroing a riflescope to a particular rifle and cartridge and then locking the turrets to their zero setting after that initial adjustment.
Back view of the M1 Garand rear sight assemblyBack view of the M1 Garand front sight. Note the allen screw.
Zeroing the Sights
With my old WW2 Springfield M1 Garand, I learned to do this by shooting a satisfactory group (I recommend at least ten rounds) at 100 yards at a standard target, like an SR-1, which corresponds to the standard .075-inch front blade width. The standard 200-yard SR target would also work fine for a 200-yard zero. The zeroing target needs to be large enough to consistently index the front sight and have a way to easily measure vertical and lateral impacts.
Besides a smart target, having a pair of calipers on hand is also a good idea. Ideally, zeroing takes place on a calm day without wind, and prior to shooting the initial group, all of the rifle’s sights should be physically centered. The rear sight assembly needs to line up with the central hashmark, and the front sight should be centered on its dovetail.
Unfortunately, the gas blocks don’t have index marks, but one can use calipers to measure the exact width and then mark dead center behind the muzzle, underneath the Allen screw. After centering the entire system, the elevation knob is turned all the way to dead bottom and then adjusted 6-8 clicks (depending on who you ask for 100 yards). The US Army used to instruct soldiers to come up ten clicks for a 200-yard zero. After doing this and shooting that very slow, careful, and deliberate perfect 10-shot group, one can take their target and adjust accordingly.
Using Calipers
Side profile view of front sight. Notice the dovetail that is part of the M1’s gas tube.
Here’s where the calipers come in very handy. For example, suppose the mean-radius of the group was 1-inch to the right from the point of aim on the target. To fix this, one would take their calipers, measure .008 inches to the right of the original index mark, make a new marking, and then carefully drift the front sight to line up with the new marking.
One would do the same thing for the vertical adjustment, take a measurement with calipers between the mean radius and original point of aim or desired point of impact and then use the left-side knob to dial the appropriate distance.
It’s important to keep in mind how many clicks from dead bottom one started shooting at, be it 8, 10, or 12 clicks. With that number in mind, keep track of how many additional clicks it took to get the elevation lined up correctly and add those two numbers.
For example, on my old Garand using Greek HXP M2 Surplus 30-06 at 100 yards, that number was seventeen clicks from base. With my front sight physically drifted in place, I knew I could always reset to my mechanical zero with the rear sight by centering the sight and clicking up seventeen times from dead bottom. If I needed to dial for more elevation, I would work off this number. Understanding total clicks from base for your load is crucial and worth writing down.
Guidelines for a Battlesight Zero
I know that everything I just described would be more pertinent to any target or precision rifle. The US Military was also aware of this and also had guidelines for a battlesight zero with an elevation of 1.82 inches above the point of aim at 25 meters. This zero would cover the M1 Garand’s maximum point-blank range out to 250 meters. It’s not too different than the AR-15’s 50/200m zero or the like.
The Takeaway
My old WW2 Springfield Armory 1944 M1 Garand during one such match where I was learning how to shoot in 2012.
Americans love this rifle for many reasons. These days, M1 Garands are loved and revered as symbols of American military prestige and our country’s triumph over the Axis powers during the Second World War. In the middle of the war, General George S. Patton called it “the greatest battle implement ever devised.”
Compared to the rifles that both America’s peers and enemies fielded during the conflict, the M1 was arguably superior. It wasn’t just that it held a few extra cartridges compared to other full-size rifles and had a quick-cycling semi-automatic action, but it also had those superlative sights.
Even compared to other rifles that had more mechanical accuracy, such as the Swiss K-31, Swedish M96, Finnish Mosins, etc., the M1 standard sights still had a higher degree of sophistication.
Standing the Test of Time
Except for perhaps No.4 Lee-Enfields, Eddystone M1917s, Springfield 1903-A3 rifles, and M1 Carbines, most other rifles of the era had the more archaic post-and-tangent sight arrangement. But even this group of Allied rifles with rear peep-sights didn’t have sighting systems as user friendly as the M1 Garand did.
Tangent sights altogether are generally slower and require more care to properly align. Besides that, most tangent sights are mounted forward of a rifle’s receiver, which lengthens the sight radius, which affects a rifle’s degree of precision. Even during the Cold War, the M1 Garand’s sights still bested the sights found on most western 7.62mm NATO infantry rifles, as these weren’t as sophisticated.
The M14 is the sole glaring exception, as that rifle uses the exact same style of iron sights. Frankly, military battle rifles probably don’t need this level of adjustability anyway. But again, we’re talking about America’s rifle here. From the Cold War on, perhaps the M16-A2 sights would be the runner-up to the M1’s as these could be nearly as adjustable.
They always say that American military rifles, as a whole, tend to resemble target rifles more than anything, and maybe it’s true. We love having it our way in the United States.
Further Reading
Not related to the M1’s sights, but a fun read about post-war M1 Garands made by IHC.
