Category: Guns

This last weekend, my grandparents moved from the home they lived in for 50 years to an assisted living facility near my mother’s house. As a part of that, I got a couple of pieces of furniture that they bought when their house was new. A couple of days later I went to go put clothes in the dresser we got, and I found this:

Neat! And it was full, too!

I’ve never seen copper shell casings before. I’ve heard of CBs, but i didn’t realize they looked like this:

 

Neat find. I wouldn’t shoot them out of a semi-auto, which is all I have. (And no, they’re not worth anything. I checked.)

 

Even though Woot has a rule about not posting deals on actual firearms* (fortunately, we have places like SlickGuns for that), they don’t seem to have any issue with advertising or even selling gun accessories.

Today’s deal on sport.woot.com is a S&W Micro 90 for $37.99 + $5 shipping.  I haven’t really done any research into this item, so I don’t know how good it is.  Woot (and Amazon) claims that MSRP is right at $100, so I’m guessing it’s better than the stuff you normally see for $40 that quickly falls app art.  I might get one just to support them offering such things.  Remember, Woot changes what they offer daily, so if you want one, I’d go ahead and get it.

*They used to, but enough folks got their panties in a twist that they were selling those evil, horrible things that they decided to change their policy.

Teenager robs couple, shoots himself in the ass with gun he stole from them

This account suggests that he stole the woman’s purse, and that the gun was in said purse. As the man ran after him, the teen was probably rifling through the purse to grab whatever he could before ditching it.

Since the gun was presumably not in a holster, he shot himself. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that because 1) it’s not mentioned in any of the three local news accounts and 2) the neighborhood this was in, that the woman did not have a carry permit.

The summer “shooting season” is upon us, so it’s time for a perennial topic: What’s in your range bag?

My range bag is actually just an old bag for a compact LCD Projector. No joke. It’s got a solid base and it’s just wide enough to hold 2 columns of ammo boxes. I haven’t gone for a purpose-built bag yet, but after reading that post’s comments I’m starting to evaluate my need for three separate bags: One that I carry to stages, one that I carry to pistol range sessions, and one that will stay in the Jeep when I go to all-day range events like New Shooter Day or training classes.

Right now, I’d say my bag does duty as a stage and pistol range bag. So if I go with a three bag setup, this list will change. Here’s what I have in my bag today:

Earpro

I bought the Peltor Tactical 6S electronic muffs when they were on a one-day sale SayUncle alerted us to. My one complaint is that getting to the batteries is a serious PITA, and being lazy about removing the batteries after every session has already almost been bad. I had a battery leak a little bit of acid between range sessions. Luckily, it didn’t destroy anything, but it could have been a disaster. Oddball has these from Howard Leight, I believe, and the batteries are much easier to get to. Which leads me to…

Extra batteries

Last weekend, the batteries in my left side earpro died about an hour into the match. It’s disorienting to have just one side on, and since everyone has electronic earpro, I can’t hear anyone talking unless I have them turned on. So I just put the Sanyo AAA Ni-MH Rechargeable Batteries I bought earlier this year into the bag. They are low self-discharge, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

Extra earpro

You never know when some jerk is gonna show up to the range with an 8″ Saiga, forcing you to shoot it. 😀 In that case, you might want to double up on the hearing protection. The other reason I keep extra earplugs in my bag is because there have been many times where I have gone to the uncontrolled range and someone is there sighting in his deer rifle with no earpro. What happens is the guy drives 30-45 minutes out there, realizes he left his earpro at home, and decides 15 rounds isn’t going to do that much damage.

Ammo

Duh. Gotta have it. If I’m at IDPA, I’ll take 300 rounds of whatever I’m shooting. If I’m just going to the range, it’s usually 200 rounds for each pistol.

Magazines

I have several extra magazines for my Glock 23 and my M&P9. They live in the range bag as a rule, so that I don’t have to unload my carry magazines.

Mag loader

Right now I only have the standard Glock Magazine Loader. Honestly I don’t even use it that much, as I rarely load full magazines. It’s not hard to put 10 rounds into a 13 round G23 mag, a 15 round G22 mag, or a 17 round M&P9 mag. What I really would like, though, is a LULA:

Bob Owens had one at the LuckyGunner Blog Shoot and I was pretty impressed. Maybe someone will buy it for my birthday :D.

Stapler

Not even a real staple gun. Just a standard Swingline Stapler. It works for stapling targets to cardboard, which is my use-case. I should probably lose it in favor of a real staple gun and put that in my “stays in the Jeep” bag. I don’t think I’ve used it in a couple of years.

Targets

I take two kinds of targets with me. The first is print-outs from Pistol-Training.com. I like the Dot Torture and the FAST, but may branch out this year.

The other kind are Shoot – N – C Self – Adhesive Targets. I like these for new shooters because of the instant feedback. I can see where my rounds go in a paper target pretty easily, but that wasn’t the case when I started. New shooters love reactive targets.

Gerber multitool

I got this Gerber MP400 Compact Sport Multi-function Tool as a groomsman’s gift several years ago. It’s proven useful several times. You never know when you’re suddenly going to need a screwdriver or a pair of needle-nose pliers. (I also keep a full toolkit similar to this one in the Jeep which has been used several times when shooting with Oleg.)

Cleaning kit

I bought this DAC Technologies 8-Piece Handgun Cleaning Kit a few years ago specifically to go in my range bag. It’s very compact, and I’ve never had to use it, but the purpose I have in mind is to use the cleaning rod for squibs if it ever comes up.

Baby Wipes

I learned in my brief time in the Army that Travel baby wipes can be your best friend. My recommendation is get the unscented ones in a hard case.

Sunscreen

This is a recent addition. Like Mr. NoPants, I didn’t start getting sunburns until well into my adult life. I resisted it, but after back-to-back 8+ hour days with no shade a few weeks ago, sunscreen lives in my bag now. I just need to learn to use it.

Bug Spray

Another recent addition. After the last match, I pulled a tick out of the back of my skull. It apparently had ignored the weak-sauce bug spray I had borrowed. Now, it’s Deep Woods Off that goes with me.

Israeli bandage

As I mentioned in my basic gunshot wound kit post, one of the vendors sent me an extra Israeli Battle Dressing. That lives in my range bag. The full kit stays in the Jeep at all times, but I do take it inside with me when I go to a range.

Final Thoughts

So that’s what I have now. I’m completely open to suggestions on things to add (or drop). I’ve only done IDPA 3 times so I’m still in the “I don’t know what I don’t know” stage. What interesting things do you have in your bag that I haven’t thought of?

*ALL ITEMS ARE NOW SOLD*

I’ve mentioned before that I have a first-gen Walther P22 that I can’t seem to sell, mostly because of the value of the kit.

I’ve sold the fake suppressor already.

Today I’m offering up one of the barrels. I have both the 5″ target barrel and the 3.4″ standard barrel.

Obviously, I only need one of them. I’m thinking $120 for the target, or $80 for the standard. I’d rather sell the target than the standard because if I end up having to keep the pistol, that’s the one I’d rather have (due to the suppressor I have now). I’ve already contacted the folks in the original post and they were able to get what they needed elsewhere.

So, who needs an extra barrel?

EDIT 8/15/2012:
I sold everything but the 3.4″ barrel a couple of weeks ago. Actually, I sold the short barrel before that, but due to an epic screw-up by the US Postal Service, that sale didn’t go through. So I still have it.

EDIT 2/4/2013:
All items are now sold.

Remember when I closed my Regions Bank accounts after 14 years?

Well, the bank I switched to was bought earlier this year, and on June 1st they became a posted property. I just found out this morning when I went to cash a check. I’ve already emailed the branch manager, who I have a really good relationship with.

I wonder if I’ll ever stopped being shocked by businesses that think someone who isn’t deterred by a 25 year prison sentence for bank robbery will be deterred by a $500 fine.

That’s a common argument from my mother about me carrying a firearm.  She and my dad worked hard to bring me up in a good neighborhood and send me to a good private school.  I now live in a neighborhood that, while not quite as good as the area I grew up in was/is, is not exactly a war zone either.

That neighborhood that I grew up in?  Where the upper middle class live and all is well?  Well, there was a shooting at medical office there this morning.  In fact, it was just down the street from where my grandparent’s business was.  The article says that the cops have a suspect and think the victim was specifically targeted, but…

After watching Wizard at his first IDPA match, I decided to give it a go this month.  I pretty much went with his initial goals in mind (don’t shoot yourself, don’t shoot anyone else, don’t get DQ’d, don’t come in last).   Well, the “don’t come in last” part was more of a “it would be really nice if, but I’m not going to kid myself” kind of thing.  Oh, and avoid procedural deductions.  The better shot placement and moving/getting set up in a hurry are hard things to work on, but I’m an adult and should be able to follow directions.

I took the Px4 along so that I could shoot in the same class as Wizard with his Glock.  My XDm is a true SA pistol, and therefor in a different category, and I still haven’t obtain the extra mags required for my Bersa.  Conveniently, I was at the range Saturday morning with Naienko’s father and got some last minute trigger time with the Px4, which was a good thing.

I have to admit, I was slow at just about everything.  This was partially intentional since I had little clue what I was doing.  I wish I could say that this meant that I was dead on target with all my shots, and that I didn’t hit any non-targets, but I’d be a liar.  I’m definitely going to need more practice, but what else is new.

I did have two malfunctions while running the stages.  The first one (on the first shot of the first stage, no less) was purely operator error.  I failed to disengage the safety when I reholstered the gun after “make ready.”  You guessed it.  Timer went off, I unholstered, aimed, and nothing… not even a click.  After a second or so I realized what had happened, cursed myself, flipped the switch and went on.

The second one actually saved me from what would have been my only procedural of the day.  I was supposed to shoot two targets twice in sequence (hit one once, then the other at least once).  I shot the first one, then tried to shoot it again when I had a failure to feed.  I think I didn’t slap the magazine in all the way, since the round wasn’t even stripped out of the mag.  In the time it takes me to do a tap and rack, I hear someone yelling “right!” (I had shot the left target).  I quickly engaged the correct target and went on.

Oddly enough, the two stages where I had mechanical or operator problems were the two that I did best compared to everyone else.  Not sure what that means.

Obviously, I failed to put any extra holes in anyone (including myself), and I also failed to get DQ’d (although, one of the regulars did for turning the wrong way).  Oh, and the not coming in last?  I actually beat somebody!  Go me!  I was second to last!  Third to last if you include the guy that got DQ’d!