The boys are back and they’re talking about how two recent cases highlight the absolute pointlessness and absurdity of how gun laws are written, enacted, and enforced
Patterning the Judge Home Defender Part 1 – Judge Centric .410
I’ll come out and say I dislike the Taurus Judge. I dislike the .410 from a 3-inch barrel and think it’s just an oversized .45 Colt gun. Purchasing a Judge fresh off my second deployment taught me a lot of things and one was skepticism. I’ve kept that Judge since as a reminder to be skeptical (and because it’s broken and no one buys broken guns.) When Taurus announced the Judge Home Defender, I was skeptical but intrigued. Firing .410 from a 3-inch barrel is silly, but a 13-inch barrel puts it right up there with the Shockwave. I decided to test both Judge centric ammo and standard buckshot.
Today, we are going to specifically focus on ammunition designed for the Judge series of handguns.
Loading up the Taurus Judge Home Defender
The world of .410 ammo is a bit tricky. It’s often tough to find, especially when it comes to buckshot. I’ve seen lots of people buying it up and reselling it like it was .22LR in 2012. Over the last few months, I’ve purchased it everywhere I’ve been able to find it, and AmmoToGo provided me with a good dose of what’s available, including the Winchester, Hornady, and two types of Sellier and Bellot ammo.
With a couple of ammo boxes full of .410, I figured it was high time to pattern the Judge Home Defender and see if it redeemed my opinion on the Judge platform. The Judge was popular enough that the ammo companies began producing Judge-centric .410 ammunition. I’ve gathered a handful of different types of Taurus Judge-centric ammo and took them to the range.
Every load was patterned at 10 yards from a standing position, and five shots of each were fired with every load but one. I only had four rounds of Federal .410 handgun, and it seems to be out of production. My target is a slightly shrunk IPSC A-Zone.
Can a 13-inch barrel make a difference? Only one way to find out.
Throwing Judge Centric Ammo Downrange
Federal Personal Defense Handgun 410 Handgun – 2.5 inch – 4 Pellet 000
The Federal Personal Defense Handgun loads performed excellently. This produced a tight pattern that landed dead center in the A-zone. The four pellets are very impressive from a rifled barrel. Sadly, this load seems to be out of production. It would take the top spot if availability wasn’t a concern. The recoil is very mild, and I’d love to know the magic behind the round and why it works so well from a rifled barrel.
Hornady Critical Defense 410 Triple Defense – 2.5 inch- 1 .41 caliber slug – two .35 caliber pellets
This Hornady load is a Judge-centric load that is designed around the rifled barrel of the Judge Home Defender. With this in mind, I assumed it would be a solid load for the Home Defender. I was right, and the pellets and slug grouped well together when patterned. It’s like the Flite control for the Judge Home Defender.
It’s got very low recoil and fires easily. Not every pattern was this tight, but they were within 2-inches or so. The FTX slug tends to penetrate a little less than desired, but the two .35 caliber pellets tend to penetrate well.
Winchester PDX Defender Loads – 2.5 Inch – Three Disks – 12 BB Pellets
This is another Judge centric load and one of the original options. It’s as nontraditional as ammunition gets. This 2.5-inch load holds three disks, which engages the rifling, and it’s backed by 12 BBs. This is a load I want to love, but it’s held back by the BBs. The three disks pattern really well, but the BBs are unpredictable and fly everywhere. On my target backing box, I used blue painter’s tape to mark the BB holes I could find. This load has the worst recoil, but it’s still not bad. If Winchester would ditch the BBs, then I’d be a bigger fan of this load.
Sellier & Bellot Elite Protection – 2.5 Inch – 1 Pellet 000 buckshot – 12 pieces BB Buck
This Sellier & Bellot load is another load seemingly designed for the Judge. In fact, it even has a revolver cylinder on the box. The load throws a single ball backed by BB buck. It’s like a Rhodesian load for the .410. Sadly, it’s absolutely terrible. The pellet and wad tend to hit the target, but the BBs go everywhere. I included a picture of the second target to show the BB spread far and wide. The recoil was very light, which is nice.
The Judge Home Defender – Worth It
The Judge centric ammo still remains a bit of a mess. The Hornady load is fantastic, and the Federal .410 handgun load is also amazing. The Winchester and S&B loads with BBs are a nonstarter for me. It’s a split bag, but the Hornady load seems to be the most common and easiest to find option compared to the other loads on this list and would be my go-to option.
“COMPROMISE”
It was almost 25 years ago when I started in the firearm industry. Truly, I didn’t know what to expect. My assumption was that everyone would be stand-offish, maybe a bit pretentious. Much to my surprise, I found an industry that was extraordinarily welcoming and extremely friendly. Like all industries, there are a few expectations to the rule, but they are few and far between.
Even manufacturing competitors are friendly and actually want, for the most part, for their competition to do well. In fact, it’s not uncommon for some manufacturers to help each other out. I know that I can reach out to the editors at competitive publishing houses with any questions I might have, and they can do the same. Don’t get me wrong, we don’t share any company secrets or anything like that, and we always keep our eyes open on what our competition is doing, but we do get and give praise where praise is due. In a sense, we’re in the same industry with the same goals of empowering law-abiding citizens with solid information about firearms, personal-defense and the shooting sports.
Done Compromising
There are several things that help bind us and keep us accessible, and one of the main reasons is the Second Amendment. I am tired of people asking why we don’t compromise when it comes to gun regulations. To them, “compromise” means we give up something with nothing back in return. Well, we have been “comprising” since 1934:
- National Firearms Act of 1934
- Federal Firearms Act of 1938
- Gun Control Act of 1968
- Clinton Executive Orders
- Lautenberg Act
- Hub/Smith & Wesson agreement
- Brady Law
- School Safety and Law Enforcement Improvement Act
- Bump Stock Ban
I didn’t include in this listing the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act (also known as the assault weapons ban) since it sunset in September of 2004. As a whole, we have “compromised” on the Second Amendment more than enough. There isn’t another right that’s more regulated than the Second Amendment. As an industry, an attack on the Second Amendment is an attack on all of us.
What Can You Do?
Please get in touch with your local, state and federal representatives. Tell them what the Second Amendment means to you, tell them that a non-elected branch of the government, such as the ATF, has no right to limit your God-given rights. Besides your representatives, talk to people in a calm manner and tell them what’s at stake. If the Second Amendment goes, there’s a good chance the First will go next, and then the rest. We are not subjects; the government works for us. Remember that in seven months.
The Glock 42
The .380 ACP Glock 42 first entered the scene a decade ago, after its reveal at SHOT Show 2014. Besides being the smallest Glock pistol ever fielded, this tiny pocket rocket is unique for two main reasons. First, due to arbitrary gun control and import restrictions set up around handgun calibers, the Glock 42 is wholly American-made. Second, unlike Glock’s other .380 ACPs, the Glock 42 is designed with a standard Browning delayed recoil blowback system. Even the other two .380 ACP models in Glock’s portfolio make use of a modified version of straight blowback (Glocks 25 and 28). By including the same mechanism in the Glock 42 of its larger siblings, the end result is a micro-compact handgun that’s surprisingly smooth shooting for its size.
Glock 42: Overview
As a product of the mid-2010s, the Glock 42 bears all the typical stylistic functions of the fourth generation models save for the finger-grooves. Its grip is covered in the squared dot texture that first appeared on the fourth generation and still found on the fifth generation. The muzzle end of the slide is squared off and hog-nosed, as the chamfering of that part wasn’t standard across all models like it is for the fifth-generation.
Like already mentioned above, the .380 ACP Glock 42 is a perfectly miniature model of the typical full size 9mm versions. It even has the same dual captured recoil springs and the same standard factory Glock rectangle and dot front and rear sights. In short, other than the frame and parts being scaled down for size, there’s nothing otherwise remarkable or outstanding in the Glock 42. It’s a Glock, like any other. Not surprisingly this also means that the stock trigger isn’t anything to brag about. Although the pistol is reliable and uses Glock’s more-than-proven action, I found that in the case of this smaller pistol, it’s more sensitive to the elements, carbon and fouling so shooters would do well to keep an eye on it a little more often than they would for their normal Glock.
Until I bought mine, I was always under the assumption that the Glock 42 and the 9mm Glock 43 were the same size, but the Glock 42 happens to be slightly smaller. Its form factor is amongst the best in its class as a micro-compact defensive pistol. Besides the back of the slide, there’s not much that the Glock 42 can snag on. Unfortunately, this pistol, like all the other “slimline” guns lacks an ambidextrous slide-stop. Due to its size, overall low capacity and mission, the lack of the ambi slide-stop isn’t critical as the gun wasn’t designed for speed-reloading either.
Glock 42’s Niche
Because of its small size, low capacity and marginally viable caliber, this pistol is nothing more than a back-up gun (BUG) or a minimalistic carry piece. In this sense its greatest weakness is also its greatest strength. After all, a fully loaded Glock 42 with 7 rounds only weighs 460 grams (16.2 oz)– just slightly over a pound. Strictly in this sense, the 42 is comparable to a 2” snub-nose revolver. A savvy north Texas street-cop was the first person to put the Glock 42 in my radar. Similarly, I had a chance to speak with legendary lawman Chuck Haggard who also disclosed his great love for this little pocket rocket. To date, he’s fired thousands of rounds of .380 ACP through his Glock 42 and can clean the Kansas law enforcement qualification shooting this gun with a perfect score.
I wouldn’t be the first or only person to wonder how this Glock compares to the typical .38-caliber snub revolver, given their overall similar size and payload capacity. Haggard is arguably one of the foremost experts on the use and employment for both small pocket semis and snub-nosed revolvers. Whether one is better than the other, he’d probably tell you that it depends on each situation, use-case, manner of dress, etc. Its small form factor allows for many forms of BUG carry: on the waistband, ankle, pockets, police vests and even deep concealment. Carry style and positioning possibilities is the area where this small and otherwise “marginal” pistol gives its carrier the most flexibility.
Practical Accuracy & The .380 ACP
Shooting-wise, this little pistol is mild and pleasant to shoot. I had no prior experience with this ancient cartridge and my first impression was that it truly did feel like a “diet 9mm.” And practically speaking, it is 9mm-lite. From a precision standpoint the Glock 42 isn’t hard to shoot. But it’s also not easy, especially with the stock trigger and stock sights.
That said, I shot two separate types of .380 ACP carry ammo at 10 yards. These cartridges include Federal Premium’s 99-grain Personal Defense HydraShok Deep JHP (P380HSD1) and Sierra’s Sport Master 90-grain JHPs. Besides, the only other rounds I’ve put through mine has been basic ball ammo, like CCI Blazer 95-grain FMJs. The HydraShok Deep is loaded to offer 12-inches of penetration. Even from this marginal chambering, so it feels warmer than the Blazer or Sierra rounds. That said, it’s snappiness is nowhere near that of a .38-caliber snub revolver. From a pure accuracy perspective, the gun is capable of providing plenty of mechanical accuracy… But the biggest limiting factors are going to be the stock trigger and stock sights. Fortunately, finding upgraded sights isn’t too difficult. Is this easier to shoot than most snubs? By far!
Glock 42: The Takeaway
In many ways a Glock is a Glock is a Glock. But in the case of the Glock 42, this diminutive .380 ACP single-stack pocket pistol happens to punch above its weight given its bases on Glock’s proven tilting barrel delayed blowback action. The standard plastic Glock sights (aka “Dovetail Protectors”) can easily be swapped out with any other aftermarket units that are slimline compatible. While the trigger isn’t anything special, I actually think its best left alone on this micro-compact defensive firearm. In fact, I’ve noticed that when handling it or drawing it, one has to be careful not to muzzle their hands, as it’s not hard for this tiny gun to disappear in the palm. I bought my gun used and the magazine it came with included an aftermarket finger ledge, and I take full advantage of that feature while shooting.
Even a decade later, the Glock 42 is still be found in gun shops big and small or outdoor big-box stores prominently besides all current or newest models. Like the ancient cartridge it’s chambered for, this Glock isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Helvetia SIG 550
The SIG SG 550 rifle has served its home country of Switzerland for 34 years now. The rifle is quite well known for its reliability, especially in cold conditions. It’s famous for the various pictures of Swiss reservists carrying rifles around Switzerland doing everyday average things. It’s a popular rifle in Switzerland, and SIG Sauer AG, a different company than the SIG Sauer that serves America, has released a special Helvetia variant of the 550 rifle.
I don’t make it a habit of cruising through European firearm websites, but every so often, something pops up that captures my attention. The Helvetia SIG 550 was one of the few pieces that captured my attention. I stumbled through Google Translate to learn more. First and foremost, I like the 550 design. I understand it’s not the best rifle ever made, but I think it’s neat, especially the carbine models.
….But the Helvetia Model
What captured my attention about the Helvetia SIG 550 was the bright red paint job. I’m not sure if it’s dipped, cerakoted, or anodized, but dear lord, is it a gaudy finish for a cool rifle? The metal is all red, and the polymer furniture portions are all black.
What sets the thing off is the weird smattering of chrome that occupies the rifle’s controls and bipod. The Swiss flag is red and white, so I’m not sure why they introduced black and chrome into the mix. Red, black, and chrome don’t go together, but it’s certainly an eye-catching rifle.
The rifle bears the dates 1291 and 2021. It was made to celebrate the 730th birthday of Switzerland. The handguard also says Swiss on it. There is a relief of Switzerland on the receiver, but it cuts off Geneva, a major Swiss city. The Rutli Oath is printed on the gun in German as well.
It comes with an embroidered sling, some very fancy set of iron sights, and obviously a SIG Sauer challenge coin. Plus, it has an axe that bears a somewhat modern resemblance to a Halberd.
What’s Helvetia?
As an American, I had never heard of the term. Through some research, I learned a bit about Swiss history. It has a bit of a double meaning. It’s the Latin name for Switzerland, well, kind of. The official Latin name is Confoederatio Helvetica. It’s also been called the Republica Helvetiorum. Other times, it’s just shortened to Helvetia. The root of the term comes from the Helvetti, a Celtic tribe who occupied the Swiss plateau prior to the Roman conquest.
Helvetia is also a national personification. Much like Uncle Sam represents the United States, Helvetia represents Switzerland. Helvetia is a female personification that’s often adorned in flowing cloth with a spear in one hand and perhaps a Swiss shield in the other. As I learned this, I had the realization that the Helvetia-themed SG 550, or STGW 90, is basically the swiss equivalent to a We The People Glock or 1776 AR-15.
It’s gaudy, like most limited editions are, and appeals to a particular type of customer. From what I’ve gathered there are only 100 of these rifles otu there and they sell for 8,000 Swiss Francs, which is a hair over 9,000 US dollars. It’s quite pricey as far as rifles go.
It’s a little comforting to know that even the Swiss have their gaudy guns and their silly, expensive prices. At the end of the day, our gun cultures are different, but there are some very interesting similarities, even if those similarities are terrible-looking guns.
Holosun – Officially Combat Proven?
The conflict in Ukraine has been absolutely brutal and now lasted two years. Arguably, it’s been going on for a decade if we rewind time back to 2014 and the annexation of Crimea. I’m not qualified to talk about politics, the tactical situation, or long-term strategy. I’m not that kind of armchair commando. The kind of armchair commando I am, looks at gear and guns and argues if it’s good or not! Today, in armchair commanding, I’m looking at Holosun and pondering if they are now officially combat-proven.
Who Is Holosun?
If you’ve been living under a rock, Holosun is an optics company, specifically a Chinese optics company with international offices. If I have my research right, the parent company of Holosun is an emitter company that broke off to make complete optics. We can see their rise with the rise of the SIG ROMEO5. The ROMEO5 was made by Holosun for SIG and proved to be a fairly robust and well-made optic.
Holosun more or less made their name by producing what’s essentially an Aimpoint T-1 type red dot optics. Small, round, tubular designs. They were as simple as it got when it came to red dot designs but robust and worthwhile. Then they exploded, namely with the Holosun 507C optic. It was a Trijiocn RMR-sized optic that was half the price of Trijiocn and performed damn well.
Ever since then, they’ve grown into an absolute monster of a company. They are incredibly innovative and impressively so. Other optics companies are playing catch up. Due to their international presence and low price, they have popped up quite a bit. This includes both sides of the Ukraine conflict.
Holosun & Ukraine
It’s not a big surprise to see these optics in the hands of Ukrainian soldiers and fighters. A lot of their military is made up of recent volunteers, and they use an odd assortment of gear from a variety of different countries. What is interesting is the use of Russian forces, which are supposed to be a professional military force. I’m not just talking about Wagner forces or random soldiers hard-wiring optics to their AKs.
From the various international news sources I follow, it’s been forces like Spetznas using Holosuns. Those guys are supposed to be elite special operations forces. They’ve been spotted with a wide variety of Holosun optics on their rifles and machine guns. In the past, the Russian military has had PR campaigns showing their troops wielding EOTechs on their weapons. The Russians make their own optics, and the 1P87 is their somewhat famous red dot.
Why Holosun? Well, it’s likely tough to get EOTechs in Russia, and the sanctions since the war popped off have been quite heavy. I’m sure EOTech is actively making sure none of their retailers or dealers are selling to Russia either. The same goes for other international companies with well reputed dots, like Aimpoint.
Why not use Russian optics? Well, in my limited experience, Russian optics suck. The 1P87 isn’t exactly a great optic. I would take a Holosun over the 1P87 as well.
Which Optics?
Newsweek reported that a Russian-based outdoor retailer imported over 2,000 Holosun optics. I’m seeing a mix of various red dots, lots and lots of tube-type 403-style optics. They seem to be the most common optics used by both Ukrainian fighters and Russian soldiers. I’ve also seen a few examples of the AEMS and the 510C in use.
The guns are using magnifiers from Holosun on top of the red dots. The users mount the optics via side rail mounts; however, some examples of AK-12s are using the rail dust cover.
The use of Holosun seems to be rising. We are still seeing the ancient POSPs in use, as well as the 1P87. Throughout the war, the magnified optics tended to be Russian-made, but some Leupold optics slipped through as well. More recent photos taken and shared over social media channels show a fascinating rise of Holosun red dots, even amongst Russia’s Elite forces.
XS Sights Introduces Lever Rail and Ghost Ring Sight Kit for Rossi R95
Fort Worth, Texas (March 19, 2024) – XS Sights is pleased to now offer its popular Lever Rail and Ghost Ring sight sets for the Rossi R95 lever-action rifle and Lever Scout Mount for the Rossi R92.
R92 Lever Rail
Machined from aircraft-grade aluminum, XS Rails are hard coat anodized to provide a lightweight mounting system that is tough enough to withstand a lifetime of use. R92 Lever Scout Mount Kit Retail Price: $76.99
R95 Ghost Ring
The ghost ring sight sets are made of precision-machined steel and fully adjustable for windage and elevation. These rugged sights deliver an enhanced field of view with a white stripe front sight. That front sight is highly visible on targets in all lighting conditions and contrasts against any color background. R95 Lever Rail and Ghost Ring Kit Retail Price: $192.99
“The XS Ghost Ring sight sets allow for the fastest target acquisition possible with iron sights,” said Jeff King, Marketing Manager, XS Sights. “The surge in popularity of lever action rifles has been fun to see, and we are happy to offer Rossi R95 and R92 owners upgrades to make their shooting experience better. Our Picatinny rail offers users flexibility by easily accommodating riflescopes and red dot sights.”
All XS sights are backed by a 30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee. The company also offers a 12-year warranty on all tritium products and a limited lifetime warranty on all other products. For more information, visit www.xssights.com.
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. 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.
YOU NEVER KNOW…
You never know when trouble will find you. You never know when you’ll need to fight for your life. You never know when it might be your last time to see your loved ones. You just never know…
You Never Know How The Day Will Start
It was New Year’s Eve, and I woke up early to feed and take care of the dogs. I got a text from my wife about a strange car parked in our front yard. Our driveway is at least 300 feet long, and sure enough there was a car parked there. I texted my wife not to worry about it, it must just be friends of the neighbor’s kids or something. We live off a private road with four homes, but I didn’t recognize the car and it would be unusual for someone to park there.
Twenty minutes went by with no movement around the car, so I decided it was time check it out. I had a Ruger LCP II .380 ACP in a DeSanits pocket holster in my jeans pocket and looked over at my Mossberg 590 12-gauge in the corner. I always have the shotgun handy when I am out with the dogs, as we have coyotes and foxes on our property. And you never know. I decided against taking the shotgun because I didn’t want to scare the kids in the car or seem too aggressive.
Alarm Bells
I hopped into my car, and as soon as I reached the strange car and got out of my car, a young man popped out from the driver’s side. He told me he was having car troubles. Alarm bells went off in my head; why wasn’t the hood up? That’s when I noticed that he wasn’t that young, actually around my age and missing most of his teeth. More alarm sirens went off in my head. I offered to help troubleshoot the car problem, but he declined. I wanted him out of there, so I offered my cell phone so he could call someone—maybe friends or family—to come get him. He called his father, and my alarm siren scaled back down to alarm bells.
Then he asked me for a ride to the nearest fast-food restaurant. My alarm bells ramped up to that robot from Lost In Space screaming in my head “DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!” Arms failing about and all that. I told him that wasn’t possible. I noticed that he was wearing very baggy clothes and I couldn’t tell if he had any weapons on him. The backseat of the car was full of bags, and I also noticed an electric saw on the front seat and part of the dashboard missing.
Racing Thoughts
Throughout this whole episode, I had my hand on the Ruger. I had all sorts of thoughts running through my head. “Watch his hands. What if he runs with your phone? It’s just a phone. What if tries to steal my car? Watch his hands! Don’t let him get too close to you. What if he pulls a gun? Go hands-on? Engage? Draw and fire? Run to cover and then engage? WATCH HIS HANDS. Why the hell didn’t I take the shotgun? I wish I had a bigger gun… at least I have a gun, gives me a fighting chance. WATCH HIS HANDS, DAMN IT. Do not let Misty (my wife) become a widow. Be smart. Why couldn’t it be the neighbor’s kid’s friends or something? WATCH. HIS. HANDS.”
He agreed to meet his father at a gas station about a mile away (easy walking distance). He handed back my phone after I gave him directions, which he relayed back to his father. He tried to get me to drive him to the gas station (that robot started screaming even louder), but I declined. I wished him luck and walked backwards to my car. As I was doing that, we were both watching each other. I drove back up to the house and called the police about what had just happened and to report a non-working car on our property. I figured I should get the police involved because you just never know.
Aftermath
After about a half hour, I drove back down to the car with a ZEV OZ9c on my hip, the Ruger still in my pocket and the Mossberg riding shotgun. The man was nowhere to be found, thankfully. I walked around his car and noticed bullet holes on the driver’s side. Great. His father called my cell, telling me they couldn’t find his son. I gave directions leading back to his son’s car. They still couldn’t find him. That’s when his father told me his son had a long history with a drug addiction. I could see in his eyes the pain and sorrow his son had caused him. I felt for him. You never know what live will give you.
The police came, took our reports, canvased the area and towed the car. Separately, talking to the police, I found out the car was stolen from a town about an hour away. The stolen car was involved in a high-speed pursuit the night before and probably turned down our private road and shut off the car to lose them. After doing so, he was apparently never able to restart it. He was a known felon to the police and had quite a record. They didn’t elaborate much about the bullet holes, besides them being fresh.
You never know, it could have been worst. Times when you need to defend yourself, life will never, ever give you a warning. There are good people in the world and there are bad people in the world. You never know who and when you’ll meet.
Training With Hunter Freeland
I just wrapped up Hunter Freeland’s Two-Day Red Dot Pistol Fundamentals And Performance course that was hosted at a private range in Huntsville, Texas. Hunter Freeland is one of MSP’s (Modern Samurai Project) most prominent instructors, so naturally, the curriculum found in this two-day handgun class is all based on the official MSP coursework. I only met Freeland two months ago at an afterhours event during SHOT Show week in Las Vegas, but this past class was my first real chance to get to know him and what he’s all about. Although I didn’t take home an MSP Black Belt Patch, I walked away from this class with several new personal bests in shooting and draw times and much more knowledge and insights towards my own shooting.
COURSE OVERVIEW
The Two-Day Red Dot Pistol Fundamentals And Performance course is a pure handgun skills-and-shooting course for intermediate to advanced students. Students have the opportunity to shoot and earn the MSP Black Belt Patch at the end of both training days. Otherwise the course is evenly spread amongst both days, neither day was harder than the other but material was spaced out with enough time to lecture it, demonstrate it and run some drills. For the majority of us, round count was approximately 350 rounds per day. Freeland recommends 700 rounds of ammo in total, but I’d bring 800 or the full case just to be on the safe side. With the high price of ammunition today, it’s fair to point out that we weren’t shooting off cartridges for the sake of merely turning money into noise either.
Freeland spent the lion’s share of the first day going over the proper support-hand grip that’s necessary for shooting both quickly and accurately. This included the demonstration of proper strong and support hand tension, delving into the famous “Berm drill” as a proof of concept. Scott Jedlinski’s famous “wave” presentation also came up during this first day. The training drills and exercises we saw all depended on that proper two-handed firing grip foundation. After lunch, Freeland segued from the proper firing grip to drawing from the holster and we all burned plenty of reps working our draws.
DAY 2 WITH FREELAND
Day 2’s core topics were the nuances of trigger manipulation to a degree I had never seen before, namely the concept of finding the various “stopping points” along the trigger’s travel path until the actual break; this ties into trigger prep prior to making the shot. After plenty of coverage and reps with the proper grip, the draw and trigger manipulation, we moved on to shooting speed as it relates to the size of a target and how a shooter can use the movement of their dot in recoil to to time their trigger pulls.
Day 2 included more shots at smaller targets at 2-inch squares, especially as a measure of trigger control. There were also further shots at the A-Zone or NRA B-6 targets at 25 yards building off the same grip and trigger control concept. Whether B-6s or A-Zones, I was glad for all the additional 25-yard repetitions and exposure. Prior to conducting the final MSP Black Belt Patch assessment, the class covered the topic of shooting transitions–that is shifting gears between small and large targets and engaging them at the correct frequency to ensure a hit.
Whether you’re modulating trigger speed or sight picture speed (red dot movement), don’t forget to keep that support hand properly tensioned!
OF WALTHERS & STACCATOS
I brought both my standard full-size and Match Steel Frame Walther PDP to this performance shooting class. I shot the Steel Frame pistol with the Trijicon RCR on the first day, and the standard PDP with the Holosun 507COMP on the second day. Because I’d been shooting the steel-framed pistol so much (north of 1,800 by now), I wanted to go back and run the standard one in comparison; moreover, I definitely took advantage of the Holosun 507COMP’s bigger window when shooting for the Black Belt Patch. I used my “training/practice” handloads consisting of 4.5-grains of HP38 with a Berry’s 115-grain .356” bullet loaded to 1.150”. No issues to report for either my handloads or the pistols.
Besides the fact that I wasn’t the only one shooting a Walther PDP for once, Staccato 2011s and not Glocks, were the most popular pistols in class. One of the students was shooting a Staccato C2 from concealment with a PHLster Enigma holster to great effect while others including Freeland were fielding standard Staccato Ps. Freeland’s 2011 was of particular interest to me because he’s shot over 100,000 rounds with that particular gun. And even with the rebuilding and overhauling, this particular Staccato has apparently held up very well–with the finish and all. Other than the SRO, the pistol didn’t have much in the way of modifications besides a lighter recoil spring set up for softer 147-grain coated 9mm rounds.
MSP BLACK BELT PATCH STANDARDS
The MSP Black Belt Patch evaluation is very straightforward. It’s shot on the standard MSP training target, and only has four parts; all four are fairly simple but come with strict time standards. A very strong grasp of handgun fundamentals and a fast draw are needed to clear it in a timely manner. Frankly, to even have a shot at the Black Belt Patch, the sub-second draw is a requirement. Students get two separate attempts at the end of each training day.
The evaluation kicks off with the “3-2” drill at 3-yards. This drill only takes five rounds and the shooter has to draw and shoot to the A-zone, then transition to put two shots in the headbox/index card above the A-zone in two seconds or less. This is followed by a 7-yard DTFS (draw to first shot) of a single round into the A-zone with a par time of one second. Afterward, one must shoot a Bill Drill in two seconds or less (this means a one-second draw to the first shot and then five additional splits at 0.20 seconds. The last portion of the MSP Black Belt Standards is a 25-yard A-zone DTSF with a par time of 1.5 seconds. Again, the best strategy here is having a quick draw and front loading the extra half-second into getting the correct sight picture.
PERSONAL BESTS
While I did not clean any of the four shooting portions that weekend, I almost had the 25-yard DTFS dead to rights. My time was 1.48 seconds, but I shanked the shot off to the left due to an error in support-hand grip tension. As I write this I can still visualize the red dot of my HS507COMP gently curving counterclockwise and to the left of the A-zone as the shot broke and shanked it right into the C-zone. Were I at half of a tenth of a second faster on the draw, I would have cleared the 3-2, as my best time was 2.04. In the heat of the moment, I accidentally fumbled the straight 7-yard DTFS thinking it had to go into the head-box only to count, which took me 1.53 seconds. Even with the regular A-zone I doubt I would have cleared the second long par time. Ditto for my Bill Drill, which came in a 2.39. While this is actually my personal best at the time of this writing, it’s still too slow for a Black Belt Patch.
THE TAKEAWAY
After training with Freeland and getting to know him better, he’s the real deal. As an instructor, Freeland has no problem executing and demonstrating what he teaches students on demand–and to a high degree. The extent that this man knows about handgun shooting and techniques is astonishing because I’d never seen an instructor ready to dive-in into a lecture about the pros-and-cons of dot occlusion or whether Captains of Crush grip exercises were actually beneficial right in the middle of the firing line. Those are just two examples from a weekend course with plenty of other shooting topics and sidebars. It won’t be too long before Freeland has enough insights to write his own book on handgun shooting.
This two-day course felt like a continuation of one of the lessons I took away from my last pistol training class, with Green Ops a few weeks ago–especially on the first day. And this is a great thing because I got to explore the concepts directly from “the source.” Likewise, I noticed that Freeland was very forthcoming about other instructors or mentors who have helped shape his outlook and teaching–credit given where credit is due.
FINAL NOTE
The prospective student’s specific skill level isn’t as important as whether he or she can safely draw and shoot from a holster. As long as that basic competency is there, the student’s quality of instruction won’t be affected. Though the majority of students tend to wear battle belts with Safariland “bucket” type holsters, I managed to successfully shoot the entire course from concealment with my PHLster Floodlight2. The fundamentals of shooting a handgun are true regardless of the aiming system, but this is truly a class for a gun with a red dot. Between observing grip tension and trigger manipulations, I finally saw for myself what others mean when they talk about “sights whispering and red dots screaming.”
FEATURES YOUR EVERYDAY CARRY BELT SHOULD HAVE: What To Look For So You can Purchase Wisely
If there is one thing that the everyday carry crowd obsesses over it’s EDC belts, right after gun brand, caliber, sight type, carry position, shooting style, holster type, holster brand…point is we like geeking out over gear. We’re always looking for that thing that’s going to give us that little edge (as long as it isn’t dry fire practice or working with a shot timer).
EDC BELT
There’s already tons of videos and articles out there about the best belt for XYZ, or the new hotness, so why would such a niche page like mine want to wade into such an overly saturated pool? Simple really. Dress belts are generally too delicate to effectively support a gun, and most of the purpose built gun belts out there, while wonderfully effective, can be so robust as to look out of place through the belt loops of dress slacks or a suit. Case in point, the Mean Gene Shooter’s belt is advertised at “just over 1/4 inch thick”. Well, when you’re going for a sleek, streamlined silhouette, that’s a lot of hide to have hanging off your hips.
When it comes to any inside the waistband carry, but especially appendix, most of the conventional wisdom on belts is actually counter productive. Super rigid belts make it harder to conform to the contours of your body. This means that the belt can actually be pulling the gun away from you, increasing printing.
With traditional belts with holes, usually most people find that one hole is uncomfortably tight, but the next one down is too loose to where the gun flops around. Before these ratcheting belts came on the market, the only options we had for micro-adjustability were either web belts or the Wilderness style, neither of which is really appropriate in a suit. Now there are options that give us the functionality we need along with a more appropriate aesthetic, and at almost half the thickness of a leather gun belt, these ratchet belts are definitely worth considering.
Hopefully you find my trial and error helpful!
Joint Venture Between Taurus and India’s Jindal Defence Commences Production of Pilot Batches for Small Arms
Bainbridge, March 15, 2024 – The collaborative effort between Taurus Armas S.A., a leading Brazilian multinational, and Jindal Defense Systems Pvt Limited, a prominent Indian group, has reached a significant milestone with the initiation of pilot batch production at the new manufacturing unit in India. This joint venture, known as JD Taurus, marks a pivotal moment in the global firearms industry. Under the guidance of Taurus’ expert team from Brazil, the Indian facility has commenced the production of pilot batches of firearms in March 2024. This strategic move aligns with the transfer of technology (ToT) and knowledge, ensuring seamless integration and adherence to stringent quality standards.
TAURUS AND INDIA’S JINDAL DEFENCE
The primary objective of these pilot batches is to establish technical, operational, and manufacturing processes to guarantee the replication of high safety and quality standards on an industrial scale. The manufacturing unit is poised to cater to both military and civilian markets, with an initial annual production capacity of up to 250,000 weapons, subject to scaling based on demand.
JD Taurus is actively participating in major tenders, including the ongoing procurement process by the Ministry of Defense, India, for 425,000 Carbines. This endeavor underscores the company’s commitment to supplying cutting-edge firearms to bolster national security.
Taurus’ renowned reputation for competitive pricing, advanced technology, superior quality, and high production volume positions JD Taurus as a formidable contender in the global market. Notably, Taurus secured a significant tender to supply T4 carbines to the Philippines Army in 2022, further solidifying its global footprint.
The partnership between Taurus and Jindal Defense epitomizes a pioneering initiative in technology transfer, in line with India’s “Make in India” program. With a 51:49 equity participation ratio, the collaboration signifies a harmonious blend of technological expertise and financial resources.
India’s stature as one of the largest markets for firearms underscores the immense potential for growth and innovation in the defense sector. With a burgeoning population and substantial defense expenditure, India presents unprecedented opportunities for stakeholders in the industry.
As JD Taurus spearheads innovation in the Indian defense sector, it not only creates employment opportunities but also catalyzes technological advancements, paving the way for a transformative era in national security.
About Taurus International Manufacturing, Inc.: Taurus Holdings, Inc. (“Taurus”) and its subsidiaries continue to evolve and produce revolutionary new products. In addition, new standards for quality and efficiency help deliver reliable and affordable guns to the market. Taurus is based in Bainbridge, Georgia. Taurus is owned by Taurus Armas, S.A. which is a publicly traded company based in Brazil. Taurus Armas S.A. manufactures a wide variety of consumer and industrial products that are distributed worldwide.
For additional information, visit www.taurususa.com.
CAN YOUR PLAN WITHSTAND GETTING PUNCHED IN THE FACE?: Hill Country Combatives In-Fight Weapon Access
Here we are. The week after the force-on-force seminar that I was getting all wrapped up over. As it turns out, I was getting myself amped up unnecessarily. I did alright.
The Hill Country Combatives seminar was focusing on In-Fight Weapon Access, so the exercises were all based around the entanglement. Since it was run more like a jiu jitsu seminar, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for me to get my own film, on top of taking notes and running the drills.
Borrowing from the Short Barreled Shepherd 3×3 Format, here are my takeaways:
Top 3 Things Covered:
– Grappling Positions (Standing at Grounded)
– Takedowns
– “Earning the Draw” (Timing)
My Top 3 Takeaways:
– Standing takedowns
– Reinforcing proper timing so you don’t mess up your draw
– I am making progress.
Yes there’s still plenty of work to be done, but it’s nice to see that the work I’ve put in so far is actually paying off.
3 Things I’ll Do Differently:
No major epiphanies on this one, no revolutionary discoveries. That being said – Improve my jits (there were a couple of very useful tweaks, especially pertaining to passing guard)
– Continue improving my cardio
– Continue exploring blade options.
*All Photo Credit Thanks to Hill Country Combatives*
Sig Sauer AXG Legion P365 Macro
The Sig Sauer P365 family of striker fired pistols is one of the hottest selling product lines today and within the years since their initial launch they’ve become so popular as one of the go to carry guns. In addition, Sig Sauer offers so many versions and sizes and trim levels that there’s something for everyone. In more recent times the Sig Sauer P365 XL and Macro versions, both which are on the larger end of P365 have specifically blown up in popularity because they almost handle like compacts while still maintaining a slightly smaller footprint. Now, the same attributes from the full size Sig Sauer AXG P320 Legion have found their way into the Sig Sauer P365 Macro frame while still having many of the goodies the AXG P320 Legion is known for.
From Our Friends At Athlon Outdoors:
The SIG Sauer P365 has experienced rapid popularity since its inception due to its perfect carry size, modularity, and capacity. However, although some loved the P365’s initial size and FCU, they wanted more capacity. For this reason, the company created the X-Macro, increasing the capacity to 17+1 and improving performance and handling. And now, SIG Sauer adds the P365-AXG to the LEGION family for even better performance and overall aesthetics.
Delivering the performance of an all-metal construction, the P365-AXG LEGION features the AXG (Alloy XSeries Grip) grip module. The module features the LEGION gray Cerakote finish for extended durability and has custom Hogue G-10 grip panels with the LEGION Chevron. Correspondingly, the textured front and back straps, textured grip panels, and extended beavertail ensure a positive grip while shooting. Likewise, the extended beavertail grip helps mitigate slide bite.
To learn more about the entire Sig Sauer P365 family and other guns sold by them, please visit
Dry Fire Basics With Memphis Beech
I had the opportunity to attend Memphis Beech’s online Dry-Fire Basics webinar recently. This 90 minute online course not only covers the ABCs of practicing handgun dry-fire at home, but also delves into safety, setting routines, pistol training itself and many other relevant topics pertinent to both shooting and self-defense. While the information that Beech shares will probably be useful to most any gun owner, I think those that are either brand new to firearms or brand new to training more seriously with firearms will benefit the most from Dry Fire Basics.
This lecture is like an on-ramp onto the “defensive firearms training superhighway. To be clear, I mean that Dry Fire Basics would have been the presentation to listen to back in the day—the same evening that I decided that I’d “take firearms training more seriously.” I could only imagine what having been exposed to such a lecture and its concepts, examples, external references and relevancies early on would have led to. In the same vein, it stands to benefit new shooters serious about self-defense today.
DRY-FIRE BASICS WEBINAR OVERVIEW
Dry Fire Basics as a presentation is divided into different parts including safety, managing the activity with others who live in the same home, drills and examples and most importantly–the building of a dry-fire routine and habit. Beech goes into detail and gives examples for every part of his presentation. One of the things I particularly appreciated about Dry Fire Basics is that every so often, Beech would make a connection between whatever he was talking about at the moment and connecting it back to a bigger-picture concept of self defense with firearms.
The webinar is full of common sense advice that one would also hear any good instructor bring up at a live-fire pistol class. One that stands out to me particularly is the concept of micro-drilling or the breaking down of a complex movement into smaller nuggets. The case of drawing a handgun from a holster would be a perfect example as this skill has many moving parts and takes some experience to execute properly. In short, this 90-minute webinar is chock full of handgun training material beyond the practical dry-fire aspects of setting up or doing drills. I took notes throughout the entire lecture and ended up with six pages.
Beech also sends his students some helpful documents including an outline of Dry Fire Basics and a recording of the actual webinar which is available for up to two weeks.
THE TAKEAWAY
I first met Memphis Beech at Tac-Con 2022 during the Craig Douglas “experiential learning lab” module, and I think he is someone to keep your eye on as far as newer up-and-coming instructors are concerned. I’ve been following him on social media for a minute now, and it’s clear he is putting in the work by attending competition, other training and fostering discussion. Most of us would agree that dry-firing at home isn’t as fun as busting caps on the range, and yet Beech’s passion shines through during Dry Fire Basics and makes a “mundane” topic feel relevant and more engaging. As previously mentioned, this webinar is ideal for someone who is serious about self-defense training and either took their first handgun home that evening or is deciding to approach their already existing firearms from a different perspective.
Dry-fire practice isn’t the most exciting aspect of firearms training, and it can feel like a chore for many (it certainly does to me most of the time). However, it’s crucial for shooting success regardless of whether one’s goal is proficiency in defensive or competitive applications–or both. If you spend any time in any serious shooter’s circles, the topic comes up often enough and is made into these huge deals. Certainly, dry-firing is important but my single biggest takeaway from Beech is that it doesn’t have to be that huge event as a daily habit; that even at least five minutes of mindful and dedicated focus on the most important aspects of handgun shooting are helpful.
Gunday Brunch 141: Mission Drives the Gear
In this episode we’re talking about another one of those commonly misunderstood phrases: mission drives the gear