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Sometime this week I'm going to take it on the chin and march into Caswell's, walk straight up to the counter and look the clerk in the eye. I am going to stand there, straight and proud, and ask, yes ask, to rent ... a Desert Eagle. I know, I know it's embarrassing; I can envision the TapOut logo magically superimposing itself over my shirt. I can sense the pity and amusement coming from my fellow range members ahead of time. Yes; but I shall do this in a good cause. I shall let all of you know just how silly the damn thing is. There may even be diagrams.

Until then, have this.

40 S&W vs 9mm: range report

So I finally got to the range to directly compare my XDM 40S&W to an XDM 9mm.

I shot at 10 yards, reacquiring the target each time in a timely manner (not doubletaping), for two magazines of 10 rounds from each gun.

Results were a bit surprising. I normally shoot a bit to the left, something I've been slowly correcting. This day I was quite good, I must say.

The XDM 40 is first, XDM 9mm second.

I'm really pleased with the 40 S&W group. The 9mm group is a bit tighter and has some nice overlapping rounds as well.

Concerning the two handguns, the 9mm XDM certainly feels lighter in the hand, but at this stage...I think I'll stick with 40.

I also brought out my old Taurus PT101 40S&W, as I was thinking of selling it if I moved to 9mm, and wanted to make sure it shot ok. I've owned this gun for a long time, and shot it a lot....and I'm better with the XDM!

Springfield comes out with a new XDM 9mm to tempt me...

As I've said before, I love my XDM 40S&W, but am considering switching to 9mm (if I can ever escape to the range and try it out!)

A couple of days ago, Springfield announced a 3.8" barrel version of the 9mm XDM:

(Image taken from Springfield's XDM site: http://www.the-m-factor.com/)

Its identical to the current 4.5" XDM except for a shorter barrel (so its more easily concealed) and a change of the grooves on the front of the barrel (presumably so its easily to grip the shorter slide). Same capacity (19+1) and it weights 4.5 ounces less (32oz vs 27.5oz).

Not that I complained about the size of the XDM (I'm a big guy and have big hands), but a compact version is pretty much the perfect darned gun.

I may end up just getting this either way, if they are actually available any time soon!

Found originally at: The Firearm Blog

Considering switching to 9mm from 40S&W

Background:

A couple of months ago, I was out shooting with a friend in the Middle of Eff-ing Nowhere. I had some new guns I hadn't had a chance to shoot yet, and my usual 40S&W Springfield XDm.

My friend also had his 40S&W XDm, and he decided to bring out his old Taurus PT99 9mm on the "I haven't shot this in ages" premise.

This was a regular shooting place, and the ground was littered with 12ga shells. One of the fun little games was to toss a handful of these out randomly and see what you could hit them so they'd go flying from 10-15 feet away. Its not a bad test -- if you can hit something that small (or near enough to kick it up) from that distance, doing the "Mozambique Doubletap" (2 to the chest, 1 to the head) to a much larger target at a greater distance should be similar.

With my XDm, which I love, my longest streak of continuous hits was 3.

With my friend's 9mm Taurus (a gun I'm quick familiar with, I have to PT101, the 40S&W version), I hit 7 in a row, more than once.

My friend commented on this.

Which got me thinking...

I had a friend switch from 45 to 9mm because of his arthritis, and watched his accuracy skyrocket. I have another friend who only shoots 45 and 9mm, because he thinks 40S&W is too "tippy" (reacquiring the target is slow because of muzzle climb).

I bought my first gun (the aforementioned Taurus PT101) in 40S&W in the early 90s partially because it was the hot cartridge (luckily I avoided the 10mm!) and it was, I think, superior to the 9mm at the time. 
 
Now, in my honest opinion, with modern powders and super-exaggerated hollowpoint bullet technology (I think Golden Sabers and Black Talons had just come out when I bought my 40), a 9mm is just a deadly as a 40S&W or a 45. As Say Uncle and several other blogs have stated recently (http://www.saysuncle.com/2009/11/19/the-best-way-to-double-the-effectiveness-of-any-bullet-is-a-follow-up-shot/) -- its far more about shot placement ("try aiming") and shot followup ("the best way to double the effectiveness of any bullet is a follow-up shot") than caliber.

From a 30 foot distance, my 40S&W grouping isn't bad -- its all in the inner kill zone:

But the actual grouping of shots together...not so much.

Soon as I get a chance, I'm gonna hit the range with my 40S&W XDm and a borrowed 9mm XDm. If the shot placement with 9mm is exceptionally better (I think it will be), I'll heavily consider switching to 9mm, as I can just sell the 40S&W XDm and get a 9mm XDm instead. Then I'll need to sell my 40S&W HiPoint Carbine, and the PT101...

"Gunnie Stuff I don't Like" (from MArooned)

MArooned posted an interesting list of "Gunnie Stuff I don't get" that I really liked:

Pistol caliber carbines with short barrels. Okay, why? Why on earth would you take a perfectly valid PCC and then pay extra money in the form of the ATF stamp to SBR it when you could, oh, buy the freakin' pistol?

Amusingly, I was just considering a 9mm AR, and thought about the SBR, but this is an excellent point. The main reason (IMHO) for pistol caliber carbines (which I like a lot -- I have a 40 S&W Hi-Point and and an awesome .357 Saddle Ring Carbine) is that its one less caliber to stock and own, and in the case of a SHTF event, you've got longer range firepower from the same ammo supply.

Folding stock kits for SKSs. SRSLY. Get an AK. Even now they're back under $500; you're gonna drop $300 for the SKS and $150 for the stock, so for $50 savings you miss out on the detachable mag?

SKSes in general are just kinda silly since the sunset of the AWB. 'nuf said.

Assault rifle pistols. I'm sorry, this has GOT to be the dumbest thing on the market. The AR-15 is a little more understandable, although I've got to wonder what kind of accuracy loss is endured from a 9" barrel. The AK-47 pistols make ZERO sense IMHO.

Totally agree here, except I find the AR-15 pistols WORSE than the AK-47 pistols. With the AR's need for a buffer tube, who the crap thought this would be a good pistol?

Obscure pistol calibers. I mean, really... .45 GAP? .32 Guardian? Even .357 Sig - slightly more powerful than .40 S&W, three times as hard to find and twice the price. The whole idea of having a handgun is that you have something portable you can carry with you for protection - when the ammo for a range session costs nearly as much as another pistol, how often are you going to practice with it? And when you can't find .45 ACP on the shelves, what's the likelihood of finding .50 Heffalump or .45 SOMPC (Some Other Manufacturer's Proprietary Cartridge)

Agreed, with the caveat that I *want* manufacturer's to keep coming up with new calibers...the FBI impetuous that created the 40 S&W/10mm debate won't come along very often, and there is nothing wrong with new calibers that take advantage of advances in technology (just like super expanding hollowpoints). If manufacturers don't come up with oddball calibers, we'd be stuck with the same 3 forever: 9mm, 40 S&W, and 45. But I agree...45 GAP is just a joke, and 357 Sig ain't much better!

Belt-fed semi-automatic rifles. Yeah, I know, in 99% of the cases it's someone who'd really like to have the full auto version but can't afford the ten$ of thou$and$ they cost. I'm sympathetic in this regard. Kinda like the folks that buy the semi-auto Mac-10s. $300 it's a fun plinker. $3K for the fun switch and it's just too damned expensive. You've got to admit, though, a belt-fed rifle with a semi-auto receiver is a lot like a Ferarri with a three speed automatic transmission...

ROFL. Pinned that one!

Rifle caliber handguns. I'm the guy that has the Snubbie from Hell™, and even I can't see the appeal in a .308 Winchester handgun. What's the point? Unless you're training for an Iron Man competition, I fail to see why someone would volunteer for premature carpal tunnel syndrome...

I had a friend who loved his 30 carbine Automag pistol. The thing was HUGE. Totally agree with this. Silly thing.

Accessory rails on pistols. Really. Look, I can grok the whole "having a light on your home defense gun". Sure, there are applications where having a hand free(r) is a good thing. But that's the thing - if you've got a pistol, you've already got a hand free. That hand can operate a separate flashlight at a tiny fraction of the cost of a rail-mounted unit. As far as mounting a laser, please - you're going to drop that kind of cake on a gun with a rail and then skimp on the aiming system? Mall ninja, please.

Agreed, except for the caveat that "more flashlights is always better" -- I'd love to have both a rail-mounted flashlight on my pistol for home defense and a second handheld one to scan a room with. I think there is a lot to be said to the psychological power of having a flashlight aimed at someone, and I know there is a benefit to knowing that its backed by more than a baker's dozen little mushrooming friends.

Drum magazines on semi-automatic rifles. This one perplexes me to no end. If you don't have the fun switch, why on G-d's Green Earth would you drop $100 and up for a 75 round drum when you can spend $30 for three 30 round magazines? It makes no financial sense whatsoever. Heck, even in FA mode, you put 75 - 100 rounds through an AK and the handguard's gonna burst into flames...

Amusingly enough, I have a 75 round drum mag for my AK, and have used it exactly once. And there was smoke coming from the foregrip when I was done...

Fake suppressors. I really don't understand the point of a fake can. "Look at me! I'm too cheap for the real thing!" I mean, you're not fooling anyone, especially when you pull the bang switch and are rewarded with a full volume report. Spend the $200. Get the stamp. Get the real thing. Save your hearing.

Mall ninja indeed. Although the "fake can" look of the GSG-5 is kinda cool...

$100+ flashlights as part of daily gear. My $10 warehouse special is only half as bright, sure, but if it falls out of my pocket when I reach for change for the vending machine I'm not going to miss it. I just don't get spending that kind of money on what is, for all intents and purposes, a disposable item. Pocketknives too - I tend to lose a pocketknife about once a year or two - I can't see spending more than $30-$40 on a decent EDC knife, yet there are folks out there dropping $200+...

I just started to harass myself for the fact I'm not carrying a flashlight. And $100 is about my limit for a "nice" light, and I've got several I really like, but always need MORE! I carry a Leatherman WAVE instead of a tactical knife because I use it 5 times a day, but it'll still do in a pinch.

Fun little list. Thanks, MArooned!

The AR15 and dust

So "everybody" knows that the AR15 has dust jamming problems, and the venerable AK is unstoppable.

These videos show that it isn't necessarily true:


To be honest, a lot of the perceived problems of the AR platform as Eugene Stoner were genuine issues in the original M-16 model. Things like the forward assist (which I personally used ONCE the very first time I shot an AR when I rode the charging handle home) have almost been engineered to extinction... Sun Devil and others make smooth-side upper receivers for a reason.

Is the AK a tougher platform? Certainly! Its built to very forgiving tolerances because it was built in very primitive factories by relatively unskilled labor.

Is the AK a better platform? That I can't answer, and I own both an AR (built from the stripped lower up, but a purchased complete upper).

But I have to say, the complete flexibility of the AR versus the AK is a huge bonus in my book.

(Originally seen at The Firearm Blog: AR-15 and AK-47 Dust Test)

Easy come, easy go

So I went shooting with a buddy of mine who really liked the little Walther. He's really accurate with it, too, so its not just me: its a damn fine little mouse gun.

A while ago, I'd sold him my beloved Taurus 605 snubby Stainless Steel 5-shot revolver for his daughter: she was comfortable with his Model 85 so he'd given her that. Since then, she's moved to the People's Republic of California and didn't take it with her.

So my friend offered to trade me my 5-shot back for the Walther. Quick thoughts were I loved the snubby, already have lots of 38 special/357s, and the Walther was my only .380, so I agreed:

Easy come, easy go!

Got a concealment holster for an Apache helicopter?

It really bothers me that we have to do this, to hide behind anonymity because our livelihoods, careers, or future prospects might be threatened by something as basic as our right to defend ourselves. There is a terrifying irony in that; and I don't like irony. I don't like contradictions, and the fact that I am expected to feel guilty for carrying the means to defend myself is one of the worst.

I believe that I have a moral obligation to defend what I love with whatever I can. There are those who believe that a beaten and raped woman left to bleed to death in an alley is somehow morally superior to that woman explaining to the police how that brutish thug got his brains blown all across the wall there. I am not one of those people.

It is the capacity for moral choice that separates us from other thinking animals. If someone chooses to break into my home and threaten the lives of my family, I will do whatever I can to end them: they made a clear moral choice that demands that response. I would expect that if I chose to walk into a bank and threaten a person's life in exchange for money, that my life would be likewise forfeit. That's what it means to be responsible for our actions.

When men first encountered the Dodo, a tame, sweet flightless bird with no natural predators and therefore no instinct to defend itself, they clubbed them to death, to extinction. They did this not for the meat, which they didn't like, or for the territory or because they were loud or obnoxious. No, they did it because it amused them. They thought it was fun to club these creatures to death. These sorts of people are still out there, and one day they may overrun my land, kill my family, torture my friends and burn to the ground everything I have worked for. They won't, however, do so unopposed.

My new Walther PPK

Picked up a Walther PPK (made by S&W) from a friend the other day...he'd bought it for his wife (it fit her hand quite well) but not his. The wife likes her new Sig Sauer 9mm better, so the Walther was for sale, freshly back from the Smith and Wesson repair shop to fix the hammer-block issue (http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2009/02/25/sw-safety-recall-walther-ppk-and-ppks-pistols/ -- I'd have linked directly to S&W's site, but its wonked for me when I try to go to the URL for the recall.)

The PPK was on that list of "weapons I've always wanted" -- its the the frakin' James Bond pistol, fergoshsakes! But its also on the list of "calibers I've never been really fond of" so it was only because a friend was selling it that I really picked it up.

I'm simply not a big fan of the little .380 cartridge, and the Kel-Tec .380 I'd borrowed from a friend was hands-down the most painful gun I'd ever shot! My primary carry is a .40 S&W and while I have nothing against the venerable .45ACP, the kick has always bothered me enough to effect my shooting accuracy, and I've always thought the 9mm was a bit weak (but I'm beginning to change opinion here -- more on that in a later post). But the PPK is just a cute little gun, and as many friends have said in the past, guns are pretty much cash equivalents, so I didn't mind dropping some cash on it, especially to a friend.

I scrounged up some 380 ball ammo and headed to the range. At 7 yards, 6 rounds:

'

Thats one triple and one double. I was pretty darned impressed, but I have to say after 50 rounds my hand did hurt a bit. I'll probably swap the factory hard plastic grips for some nice hogue rubber ones.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the little Bond Gun!

-- Revolver 223

Ok, so here's the deal: First Post

It seems so simple: I like guns. I have lots of friends who also like guns.

There is nothing wrong with this, and I have a Constitutionally Guaranteed Right to Keep and Bear Arms that Shall Not Be Infringed.

But... There are those in our society to whom an AR-15 is an Evil Black Rifle, and a Glock is a high capacity bringer of death. Between an uniformed press and uninformed populace, any gun has become an evil thing, and the fact that I'm not breaking any laws by owning them becomes unimportant, because of their fear. To a great extent, our world is ruled by FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt).

Let's face it -- in this modern high-tech world, its pretty easy to find out lots of things about lots of people, and while my friends and I who will be posting here are quite happily employed at the moment, things change -- and I'd rather not have some closed minded HR moron deny me a job because a quick google search turned up my name on a pro-2nd Amendment blog.

Therefore, my friends and I created Shall Not Be Infringed, a place we can post our firearm-related thoughts and pics without being singled-out as a "gun nut."

Welcome Aboard!

- Revolver 223
- S&W 40