Guns, Cars, and Tech

Category: Guns

  • My first IDPA match!

    Last Sunday I participated in my first IDPA match. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, and I finally decided it was time when I out shot everyone else in the NRA instructor course. Like I said then, “[t]hat’s probably because all I practice is slow, aimed hits at a known distance against a stationary target with no stressors present.”

    I headed down to the match with oddball and New Shooter Drew (who, by the way, has logged over 6,000 rounds since he shot a pistol for the first time 8 months ago–what’s your excuse?) as my entourage. I had four goals. In order of importance, they were:

    1. Don’t shoot myself.
    2. Don’t shoot anyone else.
    3. Don’t get disqualified.
    4. Don’t come in last place.

    I’m happy to report I met all four goals. Sort of.

    See, there was a match and a classifier. I came in second to last (of 25) in the match, but I was the worst performer in the classifier. I actually told the Safety Officer, “I swear I’ve shot a gun before today.”

    I want to blame the poor performance on the fact that I was running a Glock 23 instead of a larger 9mm like a Glock 17 or an M&P9 Pro. Several times during the day I entertained the thought of buying a new pistol, but I think the real answer is just to get better with the one I have been carrying for years.

    Although I do hear that the kool-aid is delicious.

  • One more thing on Zimmerman

    Something that’s struck me in the last few days is how, despite all the media attention, no one who actually knows George Zimmerman has come forward and said “oh, yeah, that guy is totally a racist jerk!” Not his neighbors (the ones who bothered to meet him), not his coworkers, not even an ex girlfriend. If he really is evil incarnate like he’s being portrayed, I don’t think it’s possible for him to have hidden it so thoroughly.

  • What’s happening to Zimmerman can happen to any of us

    How many times have self-defense advocates joked about the “he was good boy that wasn’t doing anything!” stories the families of recently-deceased criminals always seem to tell? Or that they were “trying to turn their life around” when they were shot while trying to rob/rape/assault someone? Hell, we call them choirboys on a regular basis.

    The only* difference between those stories and George Zimmerman’s story is that the family of Trayvon Martin got traction in the media. And they did that by being dishonest about Trayvon (using old pictures, etc) and flat out making things up about Zimmerman. The local and national media were all to eager to help.

    What’s to stop that sort of thing from happening again? Do you think it is less likely to happen in the future, based on the media reaction? Media loves a narrative. They also hate gun owners generally, and permit holders specifically. Expect to see a lot of “Echoes of Trayvon Martin seen in [local self-defense shooting]” stories over the next year or two.

    When it’s all said and done, Zimmerman will be this decade’s Richard Jewell (you mean the guy who bombed the Olympics?) or Bernie Goetz (that’s the guy who opened fire on a bunch of guys on a subway because they were black, right?). I just hope he gets to live to sue Al Sharpton.

    *Now, you can argue that Martin would still be alive if Zimmerman hadn’t gotten out of his car, and that’s probably true. But Martin would still be alive if he hadn’t attacked Zimmerman. Any of the stories in The Dead Goblin Count could be framed in such a way.

  • Bersa Thunder 9 Pro – Initial Impressions

    Went to a gun show this weekend and an IBM make M1 carbine tried real hard to follow me home (stupid broken A/C on my car stopped it).  Instead, a full-sized Bersa Thunder 9 Pro decided to jump at me and not leave me alone until I did the paperwork.

    As the name implies, it’s a 9mm.  It came with 2 17 round magazines, a trigger lock that is still in its shrink wrap, and… that’s about it.  This thing is at the price point where they stuff ’em into cardboard boxes instead of nice hard cases.  If you’re interested in the spec rundown, all that can be found on Bersa’s website here.

    One thing that I noticed immediately was that the grips feel great.  I think it’s because they went with actually contouring the grips some instead of the current trend of “oh, you think it’s hard to hold on to? MOAR STIPPLING!”  Oh, it definitely has that.  Thanks to using wrap around polymer grips over the aluminum frame, there’s stippling on the back of the grip and they did the standard groves on the front.

    Then there’s the trigger.  This was something that I couldn’t really try at the show because the shows around here have apparently started requiring dealers to run zip ties through their guns in a manner that stops the slide/bolt/whatever from closing.  The double action trigger on this is insanely heavy.  I don’t have a way to actually measure it, and my google-fu is failing me (although, I did find that the previous model to this had a 10lbs trigger pull).  I will confidently say that I would be completely confident in carrying this pistol with a round in the chamber, hammer down, safety off.  That thing ain’t getting yanked by accident.

    The single action is much, much better.  It’s still a little heavy, but not nearly the “OMG, I’m getting a workout!” heavy.  It’s got very little slack in this mode and the distance between fired and trigger reset in miniscule. I’m going to guess that firing this pistol quickly and accurately after the first (double action) shot is going to be fairly easy.

    Doing some dry fire practice, I tried balancing an empty 9mm case on the front sight.  I was able to keep it on there more times that not in double action mode, but the casing danced every time the trigger broke.  The casing didn’t budge when I tried single action.

    The other controls are fairly straight forward.  The magazine release is where you would expect it.  The slide release and safety are both ambidextrous.  The frame mounted safety is also a decocker, which is a little different than what I’m used to (the only other frame mounted safety I own is a 1911).

    Considering I  paid under $400 before taxes and background check, this looks like a pretty good purchase.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to get to the range soon, try it out, and report back as to how well it goes bang.

  • Unpossible

    Mississippi State Student shot and killed in his a dorm.

    MSU is my Alma Mater. It is both illegal and against policy to have firearms on campus (though when I was there, the campus police would happily store your guns for you. Lots of students would go hunting before 8AM classes.)

    Just as I remembered, the article states that to get to where Sanderson was shot, you had to pass through three access-controlled doors and walk past security.

    The three shooters got in and out with no problems and are still on the loose.

    It’s almost as if campus security is just window dressing.

    I don’t fault the campus police, here, nor the Starkville cops. The Highway Patrol has a station less than a mile from here, too. You literally couldn’t have a larger police presence given the resources at hand. Response time was less than one minute.

    But none of that mattered.

    In the end, you are responsible for your own safety, unless someone legislates that ability away from you.

    UPDATE: Two suspects have been arrested by US Marshalls. Drug related, and the victim in this case did 7 months in prison in 2010 for a couple of felonies. Shoulda followed Tam’s advice.

  • .22 selection

    So… I currently have a hole in my collection.  Namely, I don’t presently own a .22 semi-auto pistol.  I have plenty of .22 rifles and a neat little Heritage arms .22 SA revolver, but I’ve been without a pistol since I traded the Walther P22 back to WizardPC for his WASR.  I could buy that back, since he’s still trying to sell it.  While that would make an already funny story (which I might recount at some point here), it’s not really what I want.

    I think I’ve narrowed it down to a couple.  I’m looking at either a Ruger mark III or a Beretta Neos.  I know the Ruger is kind of the industry benchmark, and has been for quite a while.  I don’t think I’ll get the 22/45, since I really like the way the standard grip feels over the 22/45’s.  Of course, if I choose the Ruger, there’s then the seemingly unending configurations to choose from.

    The other is the Neos.  Which I think I’m looking at mostly because I think it looks cool.  I know others think it’s ugly, but I kind of like the raygun look.  From what I’ve read, it looks like it’s dependable and accurate.  Of course, I would be surprised if it wasn’t and Beretta decided to stamp their name on it anyways.  I’d probably go with the 6″ barrel.

    Anybody have any thoughts or suggestions?  Is there another plinking .22 I should think about?

    By the way, I’ve been told that I have to wait until National Buy A Gun Day for this specific purchase, so that’s when I’ll make the decision.

  • Is it just me?

    Or did brass cased 5.56 prices skyrocket in the last month? I swear 1000rds of SS109 was $300 shipped. Now it’s more like $380.

    Hard to budget when that happens.

  • I am sick of hearing this

    On March 6th, opponents of TN SB2992 (and SB3002) were given an hour before the Senate Commerce Committee to explain why they should not be prohibited from discriminating against gun owners when making hiring and firing decisions. You can view the testimony here.

    And yes, I do mean discriminate. The bill prohibits employers from firing you if they find out you are a gun owner. It is a companion bill to SB3002, which is more commonly known as the parking lot bill, so both bills were addressed in the testimony.

    There were several folks that testified, and they all made the same general claims that allowing employees who have carry permits to lock their guns in their cars is a safety hazard.

    There were three company security reps (Fedex, Volkswagen, and a Knoxville Hospital*) who made the same statement at one point or another:

    “I am personally responsible for the [safety/security] of every [employee/customer/visitor] that comes to this facility.”

    I heard this same thing from the Metro Parks Director during the park carry debate. It was bullshit then, and it’s bullshit now.

    My suggested follow up when someone uses a statement like that as an argument for disarmament is: “Really? So if I’m murdered in your establishment, what happens to you, personally? If you’re responsible for my safety, what are the consequences for failure?”

    I doubt that there are any consequences at all.

    When questioned by committee members, none of the witnesses would accept responsibility for the personal safety of employees going to and from work–which is proper. Putting employees in danger while commuting is not.

    I have proposed to a sponsor of the House version, tongue mostly in cheek, that a compromise can be reached with a relatively simple amendment:
    You want to claim to be responsible for my welfare? Fine. Companies may prohibit people visiting their facilities from carrying firearms, but if any person is a victim of a violent crime from the time they leave their home until the time they return, the person who is “personally responsible” for the safety and security of visitors shall be charged as an accessory and receive the same sentence as the perpetrators.

    Now, for some ridiculous statements heard during testimony (from memory, may not be exact):

    “Employees have plenty of places where they can drop off their guns on the way to work.” Really? I’ve never heard of such places, except my home.

    When asked if employers could ban Bibles from employees’ vehicles: “Well, there are laws saying we can’t do that.” Sen. Faulk eventually came back with something along the lines of “isn’t this just another one of those kind of laws?” Except Fedex. That guy said it was totally ok to ban discussion of religion at Fedex facilities.

    There was a guy from MAPCO who testified, but after he announced that I couldn’t stop laughing. At least three MAPCO gas stations get robbed every week in the Nashville area. Sometimes it’s the same gas station, they just rob it three times. I’m sure he knows a lot about keeping his employees safe.

    *The anecdotal evidence the hospital administrator gave was one incident where a non-employee who was also a suicidal prohibited person walked right past an armed security guard and killed a doctor, and another where a teacher was fired and went to his car to get a handgun that he had been storing there–a serious felony. It’s unclear how this law would have affected those incidents.

  • Act of Valor

    About 90 minutes of war porn followed by ten minutes of you and everyone else in the theater crying (you know within about 3 minutes of the movie starting that it ends with a funeral). Chinooks dropping swiftboats into a river? Check. Dead terrorists? Check. Miniguns shooting live ammunition instead of using special effects? Check.

    If that’s not enough to get you there, go read this article about how some of the scenes were directed. Basically, the director told the SEALs “This is what your objective is” and then the guys came up with operational plans. They then filmed based on the actual plan, not what some writer thought would be a good plan.

    My only gripe is that they had several first-person shooter views where the shooter had an M4 with an EOTech up top, but the EOTech reticle was never seen.

  • CHP class

    So, I finally got my lazy rear into a carry class in order to get my permit.  Yes, yes, I know, I know.  I’m fixing that.

    Anyways, I found out about Condition-1 through the local chapter of the Zombie Squad, and that they had a few slots still open for yesterday’s class.  Honestly, that’s all I knew about them.  I remember WizardPC telling me that I pretty much already knew what they taught in those classes, and I just needed to get into any class and get the rubber stamp.  As far as the state requirements, he was definitely correct.

    The format of the class was the standard class in the morning, then range time in the afternoon.  The classroom portion went over a heck of a lot more than what was required on the test.  One think I thought was interesting was that the state has 3 rules of gun safety instead of Cooper’s 4 rules.  The instructors treated it they way I probably would by going over the 4 rules (oh, and the included 5th rule) and then mentioning “oh, yeah, the state uses these three rules.  We like the 4 rules better.”  I tried to sit there and not be the snot-nosed, know it all gun nut.  I think I mostly succeeded.  The only thing the instructor said that I really had any issue with was they held a Bersa .380 up as an example of a cheap gun not to buy.  Talked to him about that later.  He admitted that he had never had problems with his, but had seen a few fail including one or two slide failures where the slide actually flew off towards the target.  Never heard that one before.

    I do need to comment on the video the state required them to show us.  About half of it was actually on topic and about what you would expect from a state-made video.  Somewhere in the middle, they decide to go on a tirade about the evils of drugs and alcohol.  Really?  I think it’s enough to say “guns and drugs/alcohol are bad, m’kay?” and possibly here’s penalties for drinking/doing drugs while carrying.  We don’t need a break down on how alcohol affects the system and how much various shots of alcohol will change your alcohol blood content if you’re a 100lbs girl.  Also, if you’re going to go into the evils of marijuana, please get some better information than what you got from Reefer Madness.

    After lunch, it was time to head to the range.  They had blue bins for us to put our guns, magazines, and ammo in, which was a good idea for transport and having someplace to put the stuff when you weren’t using it.  Their instruction was pretty good.  One of the instructors ended up spending a lot of time with an older lady next to me who hadn’t really shot much before the class.   I had to remind her a few times that I’ve been shooting for a few years now and not feel bad about the fact that her target didn’t look like mine did, and she was certain that she was going to fail.  At the end of the day, we did the state required shooting test of a couple 6 shot strings at 3, 5, 7, and 15 yards on silhouette targets.  I had a couple flyers where I know I jerked the trigger, but other than that, I turned the high 8 (where we were told to aim) into a ragged hole.  The lady next to me?  Well, it wasn’t a ragged hole, but every round was on target.  I think the lowest score was 46/48, and most were 48/48.  I suspect that there were a couple of folks in our group that would have failed at the beginning of the day, and I know my groups were tighter than they usually are.

    These guys were friendly and knew what they were talking about (I’ll let the Bersa thing slide).  They made it explicitly clear on their website and in class that this was not a class for anything other than getting your CHP, and it wasn’t.  Of course, it’s kind of difficult to make it more than that in one eight hour day.  I’d say this was a pretty good fundamentals class, and I’ll probably keep my eye out for their more advanced courses in the future.

    oh, almost forgot a few choice quotes:

    One of the instructors after looking at my target and the guy’s next to me after the first string: “you guys are cheating.”

    After I volunteered that I had paracord and duct tape in my car for separate issues: “In case of the apocalypse, we’re going with [Oddball].”