I'm enamored with the 5.7 x 28mm caliber. From the ballistic tests I've watched on TV and youtube, and from various other reporting sources, I've been very impressed with the lack of over-penetration that the round exhibits.
In shooting the round from a fixed sight FN 5.7, I enjoy the low recoil and am VERY impressed with the accuracy of the gun, or at least with me shooting it.
Did I say I was very impressed with the accuracy of the FN 5.7?
Like the Glock 9mm, it's a laughing gun for many of my friends, No, they're not laughing at it, they're laughing at how easy it is to shoot and how accurate it is, again, with that low recoil compared to what they otherwise shoot. They are laughing with the enjoyment of shooting this particular gun.
I really can't afford a P90, although who like me wouldn't want to have one in the back of the gun safe. Again, a great home protection gun, with the penetration issue again being key living in a populated area.
Don't get me wrong, there are other great calibers for home defense. You might not have a 5.7 or if you do, might not have it handy. The venerable 12 or 20 gauge shotgun is one of the best home defense guns and least likely to exit your home, in my opinion. And so say many others.
And I'm not really talking about a hi-capacity gun here. First off, I personally would be happy with a single shot version of the .300 Whisper single shot takedown that one company is making along with a silencer company. It would seem that this very gun could handle the 5.7, just with a different size factory bore.
Companies like NEF and H&R and Rossi have made these single shot guns, in some cases for years. I know some of these makers have combos that include a shotgun barrel and a rifle barrel. One series features interchangeable barrels in numerous calibers, like a rifle version of the Thompson Contender handgun. It seems like for one of these companies you have to send the receiver to the maker to have the barrel actually fit to your gun.
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I know I've used these style guns, beginning with my H&R Topper Jr. at a single digit age. I remember the day we bought it at K Mart for a birthday. So they are making the same gun now, probably with a safety added, but with interchangeable barrels. I'd like to think I made my shooting skills better by knowing I had no follow up shot and that every shot had to count.
So I think a 5.7 takedown single shot with the options of having other calibers like maybe a .243 and a shotgun barrel or two would be a very handy gun and a great fun gun. And cheap.
Some kind of bolt action and semi-automatic rifle that uses 5.7 mags would also be a very fun gun, and it seems the centerfire 17 caliber guns that are so popular now could again be made for the 5.7 round. I have not really checked to see if there are Thompson Contender barrels for this round, but it seems like it would be a nice round for predator hunting and long range handgun shooting with low recoil.
And for Glock. Glocks are such great guns. So many, like myself, have had such outstanding experience with various Glocks over the years. I and many others had been hoping that the recently introduced .380 Glock would have been a mini-9mm Glock. I know that I and other bloggers and gun writers have suggested a Glock in the 5.7 x 28mm caliber.
No other pistol makers have taken the bait either as far as I know.
Friday, January 31, 2014
I WANT A NEW "OLD SCHOOL" LANDCRUISER
To all other Toyota distributors and marketing executives and those at Nissan, Isuzu, Honda, Jeep and other makers the 4wd vehicles I'll be talking about here.
I'm an American consumer. White, middle aged, professional, married with children and both of us work.
I've owned Toyotas now for over 30 years personally. Add to that another five years when my dad bought a Celica before I bought my first one myself in 1983.
My only regret in owning Toyotas was that in 1988 I SHOULD HAVE bought a Landcruiser instead of the Tercel I got. I thought I should economize at that time, going to school and all, and although I had a paid off trade in worth quite a bit and could have had low payments on the Landcruiser, the gas mileage scared me.
I laugh out loud at that now, with gas prices now vs. then.
The point of this post is, I want a REAL 4wd vehicle that is not some luxury mobile I can't afford. Yes, the current model Landcruiser and it's Lexus twin and vehicles of their ilk like the Land Rover are quite marvelous vehicles, and fabulously out of my reach.
I've often wondered why they don't make a "bare bones" edition of the current full size Landcruiser, dropping $25k or $30k off the price leaving a 4wd machine you can drive on the street, sans all the luxury extras that make the current Landcruiser almost indistinguishable from it's Lexus twin in terms of extras and luxury.
That leaves, other than trucks, as "real" 4wd vehicles the venerable Jeep Wrangler, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and the Toyota FJ Cruiser. If the FJ Cruiser were somewhat longer with 4 full passenger doors and a bigger cargo area, then that's what I'd buy. I'm talking about an extension that would give a cargo area the size of the 1980's FJ Landcruisers, not the tiny just barely bigger than a Wrangler cargo area that the FJ Cruiser features.
We've owned a Wrangler before, for many years. It did leak a lot, usually mystery leaks that resolved and went away. We might consider an Unlimited, but I wish we had more choices with more cargo room that the Unlimited offers.
Unrelated to my desire for an old school Landcruiser, I'd also like to see a Jeep pickup truck worthy of the Jeep name. The old full size 4wd pickup, the "J" series that ended in 1983 I think, was a great truck. Instead of the custom and priced at $50k or more converted Wranglers that are being offered as "custom Jeep trucks", I'd like to see a real truck with a REAL extra shift lever for 4wd right out of the Wrangler or Rubicon. With a big engine with some torque like the Jeep trucks in the days of yore, 30 years ago, had.
My good friend Billy Ray had the follow up to the J series of Jeep trucks, the Comanche. When he called me, I was very excited for him. I knew the old J series trucks were rough and tough and very cool vehicles. Unfortunately, that day in 1997 he got it and when I saw that Comanche I was dis.a.ppoint.ed. big time. While it later proved capable in some 4wd situations, I recall one time Billy Ray sorta scraped against a parking lot light pole base and it basically ripped the front end off of his car, leaving a radiator, engine and fenders on each side. Luckily, it left the headlights and running lights, so it was legal, but it was not a tribute to solid construction.
So along with a more utilitarian Landcruiser, I'd like to see a nice Jeep truck worthy of the reputation and again something competitive with other trucks with similar specs.
As I have posted before, I do not understand why Toyota does not import an Americanized version of the current rendition of the 1983-1990 Toyota FJ 60 4 door Landcruiser. In all accuracy, I believe that it had some different numbers after the FJ for some of the years, but I'm not sure. But google FJ 60 if in doubt and you'll know the vehicle I'm talking about. In 1990, Toyota switched this vehicle to a larger and heavier design and it became more fancy and luxurious and is out of reach for the common family and person.
I see pictures from all over the world, and even as close to Texas as Latin America. Certainly, they're all over Asia and Africa and I believe Australia. They are an updated version of the 1980's Landcruiser. What I call the old school Landcruiser.
I know from various for sale websites in other countries that Toyota still builds a modernized version of the venerable 1980's FJ series. 4 doors and a hatchback deal. Real 4wd that is controlled with a lever not a button. Some serious torque. A nice but simple interior. They also make a version in a single cab pick up truck, which is a vehicle I'd like to have as well.
Both of these vehicles would sell like crazy in this country. For the regular guy like me, I can't import one and pay a shop to have it legalized for import purposes. But an automotive maker could easily absorb those costs, since they already make the updated safety and emission products and it's a simple matter of introducing those to the vehicles still sold in countries not requiring such things.
I wish Toyota would market this vehicle in America.
Likewise, I see all kinds of new vehicles from Ford. I'd love to see a modern interpretation of the old school early 70's Bronco. If I were an engineer for Ford, I'd re imagine it as a modern version of the Land Rover Defender, with just a bit more length than the early Bronco models had. And with the power that the Defender has, because some Broncos back in the day had some big Ford V-8 engines in them. And those engines had some torque for off- roading with some serious 4wd transmissions attached.
And then there is Isuzu. In the early 90's, had I known then what a great off-roading vehicle that the Trooper was, I'd have had one. I still see a lot of these vintage vehicles on the road.
Billy Ray's friend Dan has one from the early 90s that he bought for something like $1,000 and put another $1,000 in it, and together Billy and Dan have traversed the often hard to travel beaches of the Padre Island National Seashore while beach wilderness surf fishing. Billy Ray claims that whilst they encounter many other brands of stuck 4wd vehicles (never any Dodge 4wd full size trucks, though), the Trooper has in effect been...wait for it...a trooper in the deep sands of Padre. Billy Ray claims the automatic transmission is the way to go for Padre Island wilderness four wheeling.
So I'd sure like to Izusu make a real 4wd again as back in the day, those Troopers were affordable. Something more on the spartan side and less on amenities. Same with Nisssan. They could take their large truck frame, seat a SUV body on it and make a real 4wd suv.
I'll mention a couple of other old rides that deserve remembering. The International Scout was a vehicle that fit the description of what I'm looking for, and they made several other similar models as well. Those days are gone.
I'm an American consumer. White, middle aged, professional, married with children and both of us work.
I've owned Toyotas now for over 30 years personally. Add to that another five years when my dad bought a Celica before I bought my first one myself in 1983.
My only regret in owning Toyotas was that in 1988 I SHOULD HAVE bought a Landcruiser instead of the Tercel I got. I thought I should economize at that time, going to school and all, and although I had a paid off trade in worth quite a bit and could have had low payments on the Landcruiser, the gas mileage scared me.
I laugh out loud at that now, with gas prices now vs. then.
The point of this post is, I want a REAL 4wd vehicle that is not some luxury mobile I can't afford. Yes, the current model Landcruiser and it's Lexus twin and vehicles of their ilk like the Land Rover are quite marvelous vehicles, and fabulously out of my reach.
I've often wondered why they don't make a "bare bones" edition of the current full size Landcruiser, dropping $25k or $30k off the price leaving a 4wd machine you can drive on the street, sans all the luxury extras that make the current Landcruiser almost indistinguishable from it's Lexus twin in terms of extras and luxury.
That leaves, other than trucks, as "real" 4wd vehicles the venerable Jeep Wrangler, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and the Toyota FJ Cruiser. If the FJ Cruiser were somewhat longer with 4 full passenger doors and a bigger cargo area, then that's what I'd buy. I'm talking about an extension that would give a cargo area the size of the 1980's FJ Landcruisers, not the tiny just barely bigger than a Wrangler cargo area that the FJ Cruiser features.
We've owned a Wrangler before, for many years. It did leak a lot, usually mystery leaks that resolved and went away. We might consider an Unlimited, but I wish we had more choices with more cargo room that the Unlimited offers.
Unrelated to my desire for an old school Landcruiser, I'd also like to see a Jeep pickup truck worthy of the Jeep name. The old full size 4wd pickup, the "J" series that ended in 1983 I think, was a great truck. Instead of the custom and priced at $50k or more converted Wranglers that are being offered as "custom Jeep trucks", I'd like to see a real truck with a REAL extra shift lever for 4wd right out of the Wrangler or Rubicon. With a big engine with some torque like the Jeep trucks in the days of yore, 30 years ago, had.
My good friend Billy Ray had the follow up to the J series of Jeep trucks, the Comanche. When he called me, I was very excited for him. I knew the old J series trucks were rough and tough and very cool vehicles. Unfortunately, that day in 1997 he got it and when I saw that Comanche I was dis.a.ppoint.ed. big time. While it later proved capable in some 4wd situations, I recall one time Billy Ray sorta scraped against a parking lot light pole base and it basically ripped the front end off of his car, leaving a radiator, engine and fenders on each side. Luckily, it left the headlights and running lights, so it was legal, but it was not a tribute to solid construction.
So along with a more utilitarian Landcruiser, I'd like to see a nice Jeep truck worthy of the reputation and again something competitive with other trucks with similar specs.
As I have posted before, I do not understand why Toyota does not import an Americanized version of the current rendition of the 1983-1990 Toyota FJ 60 4 door Landcruiser. In all accuracy, I believe that it had some different numbers after the FJ for some of the years, but I'm not sure. But google FJ 60 if in doubt and you'll know the vehicle I'm talking about. In 1990, Toyota switched this vehicle to a larger and heavier design and it became more fancy and luxurious and is out of reach for the common family and person.
I see pictures from all over the world, and even as close to Texas as Latin America. Certainly, they're all over Asia and Africa and I believe Australia. They are an updated version of the 1980's Landcruiser. What I call the old school Landcruiser.
I know from various for sale websites in other countries that Toyota still builds a modernized version of the venerable 1980's FJ series. 4 doors and a hatchback deal. Real 4wd that is controlled with a lever not a button. Some serious torque. A nice but simple interior. They also make a version in a single cab pick up truck, which is a vehicle I'd like to have as well.
Both of these vehicles would sell like crazy in this country. For the regular guy like me, I can't import one and pay a shop to have it legalized for import purposes. But an automotive maker could easily absorb those costs, since they already make the updated safety and emission products and it's a simple matter of introducing those to the vehicles still sold in countries not requiring such things.
I wish Toyota would market this vehicle in America.
Likewise, I see all kinds of new vehicles from Ford. I'd love to see a modern interpretation of the old school early 70's Bronco. If I were an engineer for Ford, I'd re imagine it as a modern version of the Land Rover Defender, with just a bit more length than the early Bronco models had. And with the power that the Defender has, because some Broncos back in the day had some big Ford V-8 engines in them. And those engines had some torque for off- roading with some serious 4wd transmissions attached.
And then there is Isuzu. In the early 90's, had I known then what a great off-roading vehicle that the Trooper was, I'd have had one. I still see a lot of these vintage vehicles on the road.
Billy Ray's friend Dan has one from the early 90s that he bought for something like $1,000 and put another $1,000 in it, and together Billy and Dan have traversed the often hard to travel beaches of the Padre Island National Seashore while beach wilderness surf fishing. Billy Ray claims that whilst they encounter many other brands of stuck 4wd vehicles (never any Dodge 4wd full size trucks, though), the Trooper has in effect been...wait for it...a trooper in the deep sands of Padre. Billy Ray claims the automatic transmission is the way to go for Padre Island wilderness four wheeling.
So I'd sure like to Izusu make a real 4wd again as back in the day, those Troopers were affordable. Something more on the spartan side and less on amenities. Same with Nisssan. They could take their large truck frame, seat a SUV body on it and make a real 4wd suv.
I'll mention a couple of other old rides that deserve remembering. The International Scout was a vehicle that fit the description of what I'm looking for, and they made several other similar models as well. Those days are gone.
SILVER OR LEAD: PART II: WILL THERE BE A MEXICAN SPRING?
Since my last post on the subject of citizens fighting back in Mexico against the cartels, the Government moved in and decided to co-opt the citizens brigades and dub them "Rural Defense Forces" or some such name, going back to the days when rural Mexican communities had no paid law enforcement or military to keep the peace.
But one condition of this deal is that the citizen fighters must register their names and weapons with the government. If I were in the citizens army command, I'd be rendering code names or numbers for each of my forces with their true identities not given to the government. And no registration of firearms.
I mean, come on. Mexico is the wild, wild west compared to the old west days in America, which can hardly hold a candle to the brutality, savagery and wanton nature of the current Mexican cartels. Are they going to require the cartel soldiers to "register" their weapons?
I would be afraid for the government to have my true identity. The government is bought and paid for by the cartels in many areas and on many levels. Lots of knowledgeable researchers claim the corruption not only pervades the state and local level but reaches into the highest levels of the federal government and military.
I would worry about the Mexican government having a corrupt employee who sold my information to a cartel who then could reek vengeance upon me, my family or my town.
The federal government and President of Mexico undoubtedly realize that they risk a "Mexican Spring" if they kill, disarm or otherwise fight the freedom fighters. Clearly, this decision to co-opt the citizens was made at the highest levels.
I like that term, freedom fighters. Vigilante also applies, but they have no choice but to kill or be killed by the cartels, so this is a war.
Think about it. You have cartel violence all over most parts of Mexico. No community is too destitute for a cartel to consider moving in. They have the power to bring in ship loads, and I mean oil tanker size vessels, of methamphetamine precursers through various Mexican ports. They rule the highways in many areas, complete with roadblocks.
There have been cartels of one kind or another in Mexico for many decades. Difference was, they kept their violence to themselves with no collateral damage and all they did was bribe government officials and run dope. There were no decapitations, no hangings or other such atrocities. They had clearly defined territories and knew that the less bullcrap they generated would cause them less problems with law enforcement. 1 + 1 = 2.
Or as a friend of mine says, break one law at a time.
Don't get me wrong. Mexico, and particularly the border towns, have long been known for being wild, anything goes and very violent places in ways totally unconnected to the drug cartels. It's always been poverty stricken. The difference was, in many smaller Mexican communities and towns in the interior, life was peaceful and not nearly as violent as the border towns.
Now, in sort of out of the way places like a lot of towns, villages and mere isolated communities in the Mexican state of Michoacan, you've got the heinous murders added to the kidnapping and rapes of women and children by the cartels.
So all this wanton, and it is truly heinous and wanton, cartel violence has pervaded many if not most of the areas of Mexico. Citizens, most of whom have never had it easy in this poor country, have just had miserable and indeed dangerous living conditions. I suspect many of them are fed up. I suspect many are very fed up not only with cartels and their violence but with the government.
My late father long predicted that the people of Mexico would one day rise up against their long rumored corrupt federal government and have a(nother) revolution. That was 30 and 40 years ago when my dad said that, and things are so much more unimaginably worse there now then back then when my dad uttered those predictions.
So I would think the fear by the goverment of a citizen's uprising in Mexico is very high, and that it's a very real possibility should the Mexican government not take this opportunity to take control of their country.
I keep wondering why the Mexican Naval forces have not been sent to Michoacan, particularly their naval special forces. They are rumored to be the only Mexican law enforcement or military entity that is not riddled with corruption. They seem to be the enforcers who get the job done and well done when called in on certain drug cartels.
So why are they not all over Michoacan helping the citizens and providing intelligence and support for them? To my mind, the Mexican armed forces, the Federales, the many law enforcement officers in state and federal prosecutors offices, and the many types of law enforcement officers in the country, ought to be side by side with the citizens and this whole Michoacan war could be brought to a quick end. It would be crucial for the military to continue their presence in support of the local militias, in order to deter the cartel members to not come back.
Likewise, it would obviously be wise to battle the other cartels in their territory at the same time they are fighting in Michoacan. Call in assistance from other nations if necessary or perhaps NATO troops to provide local law enforcement whilst all [non-corrupt] law enforcement and military forces battle the cartels and take their country back.
Mexico surely has lost billions in tourist monies over the past decade and likewise, I suspect many businesses who might consider relocating to Mexico find other countries to move to. Mexico, as I said, has in parts always been a bit dangerous of a place in terms of crime compared to where I come from, but there were many parts that had very low crime rates and were great places to visit.
Many of my friends have fished all over the coasts of Mexico and many of their waters, both salt and fresh, are literally brimming with fish. One friend of mine, the late Dr. Walter P., used to visit a certain mountainous area every summer in Mexico in furtherance of his college teachings regarding Mexico. He said the fishing there in the mountain streams was excellent.
Before this cartel violence started, I wanted to do some saltwater offshore fishing out of a certain Mexican town a lot of friends of mine have visited where they always caught lots of big fish. I still long to go to that town for the fishing I've heard so many stories about.
If the Mexican government would grow a pair, and really declare war on the cartels, they could make great progress with the help of loyal citizens.
But one condition of this deal is that the citizen fighters must register their names and weapons with the government. If I were in the citizens army command, I'd be rendering code names or numbers for each of my forces with their true identities not given to the government. And no registration of firearms.
I mean, come on. Mexico is the wild, wild west compared to the old west days in America, which can hardly hold a candle to the brutality, savagery and wanton nature of the current Mexican cartels. Are they going to require the cartel soldiers to "register" their weapons?
I would be afraid for the government to have my true identity. The government is bought and paid for by the cartels in many areas and on many levels. Lots of knowledgeable researchers claim the corruption not only pervades the state and local level but reaches into the highest levels of the federal government and military.
I would worry about the Mexican government having a corrupt employee who sold my information to a cartel who then could reek vengeance upon me, my family or my town.
The federal government and President of Mexico undoubtedly realize that they risk a "Mexican Spring" if they kill, disarm or otherwise fight the freedom fighters. Clearly, this decision to co-opt the citizens was made at the highest levels.
I like that term, freedom fighters. Vigilante also applies, but they have no choice but to kill or be killed by the cartels, so this is a war.
Think about it. You have cartel violence all over most parts of Mexico. No community is too destitute for a cartel to consider moving in. They have the power to bring in ship loads, and I mean oil tanker size vessels, of methamphetamine precursers through various Mexican ports. They rule the highways in many areas, complete with roadblocks.
There have been cartels of one kind or another in Mexico for many decades. Difference was, they kept their violence to themselves with no collateral damage and all they did was bribe government officials and run dope. There were no decapitations, no hangings or other such atrocities. They had clearly defined territories and knew that the less bullcrap they generated would cause them less problems with law enforcement. 1 + 1 = 2.
Or as a friend of mine says, break one law at a time.
Don't get me wrong. Mexico, and particularly the border towns, have long been known for being wild, anything goes and very violent places in ways totally unconnected to the drug cartels. It's always been poverty stricken. The difference was, in many smaller Mexican communities and towns in the interior, life was peaceful and not nearly as violent as the border towns.
Now, in sort of out of the way places like a lot of towns, villages and mere isolated communities in the Mexican state of Michoacan, you've got the heinous murders added to the kidnapping and rapes of women and children by the cartels.
So all this wanton, and it is truly heinous and wanton, cartel violence has pervaded many if not most of the areas of Mexico. Citizens, most of whom have never had it easy in this poor country, have just had miserable and indeed dangerous living conditions. I suspect many of them are fed up. I suspect many are very fed up not only with cartels and their violence but with the government.
My late father long predicted that the people of Mexico would one day rise up against their long rumored corrupt federal government and have a(nother) revolution. That was 30 and 40 years ago when my dad said that, and things are so much more unimaginably worse there now then back then when my dad uttered those predictions.
So I would think the fear by the goverment of a citizen's uprising in Mexico is very high, and that it's a very real possibility should the Mexican government not take this opportunity to take control of their country.
I keep wondering why the Mexican Naval forces have not been sent to Michoacan, particularly their naval special forces. They are rumored to be the only Mexican law enforcement or military entity that is not riddled with corruption. They seem to be the enforcers who get the job done and well done when called in on certain drug cartels.
So why are they not all over Michoacan helping the citizens and providing intelligence and support for them? To my mind, the Mexican armed forces, the Federales, the many law enforcement officers in state and federal prosecutors offices, and the many types of law enforcement officers in the country, ought to be side by side with the citizens and this whole Michoacan war could be brought to a quick end. It would be crucial for the military to continue their presence in support of the local militias, in order to deter the cartel members to not come back.
Likewise, it would obviously be wise to battle the other cartels in their territory at the same time they are fighting in Michoacan. Call in assistance from other nations if necessary or perhaps NATO troops to provide local law enforcement whilst all [non-corrupt] law enforcement and military forces battle the cartels and take their country back.
Mexico surely has lost billions in tourist monies over the past decade and likewise, I suspect many businesses who might consider relocating to Mexico find other countries to move to. Mexico, as I said, has in parts always been a bit dangerous of a place in terms of crime compared to where I come from, but there were many parts that had very low crime rates and were great places to visit.
Many of my friends have fished all over the coasts of Mexico and many of their waters, both salt and fresh, are literally brimming with fish. One friend of mine, the late Dr. Walter P., used to visit a certain mountainous area every summer in Mexico in furtherance of his college teachings regarding Mexico. He said the fishing there in the mountain streams was excellent.
Before this cartel violence started, I wanted to do some saltwater offshore fishing out of a certain Mexican town a lot of friends of mine have visited where they always caught lots of big fish. I still long to go to that town for the fishing I've heard so many stories about.
If the Mexican government would grow a pair, and really declare war on the cartels, they could make great progress with the help of loyal citizens.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
F.N. FiveseveN SURPRISE: a field shooting review
I'm working on another post that details the trip El Fisho Jr. and I took to the family place of a friend of El Fisho, who we'll call Bob III. He's a good kid and he's been best buddies with El Fisho Jr. since they started school and they've both played in band, football and basketball teams. As young teens, they are outstanding young men, both raised with strong traditions of Texas history and values.
So, as what turned out to be the coolest birthday party ever for Bob III thrown by his parents and paternal grandparents at the old family place and deer camp and weekend getaway. There were many cool things about this 75 or so acre place, including indian carvings, spanish settler road markings on rocks and a TON of wildlife we saw like coyotes, wolves, groundhogs, both javalina and the larger feral hogs, deer and bobcats, all during the daytime, all on property that is hunted regularly for predators and seasonally for deer and turkey. We just missed several turkey we stalked up on, finding instead several large feathers freshly left upon their getaway.
Part of the festivities was skeet shooting, and I was glad I had brought some extra shells in case the host, Bob Jr., needed them. In all, the 4 kids shot off about 600 rounds total in skeet in a couple of hours.
I also brought a small selection of .22 handguns, including some revolvers, for the kids to shoot. I had stocked up on .22 before the most recent "shortage", and have picked up boxes since whenever .22's are found, which is still somewhat rare in areas. Walmarts never have them. So I brought a brick of .22's because they go fast.
Everyone brought a Glock of some kind, and one of the kids brought a Model 23 of his dad's, a police sergeant work friend of mine.
So I was invited along to act as a helper and fellow rangemaster with Bob Jr. and Bob Sr. More about the loveable man, a retired fire chief, in my later post on the trip. Bob Jr. did an excellent 45 minute long gun safety lecture. I've given the same talks, and I was impressed. It was interactive and seemed to sink in. I then helped Bob Jr. talk about operating the different guns he and I had brought out there, the different safety procedures for each one, and so on.
I must salute the Glock operating lecture he gave. Glock should video it and include it with each consumer gun sold. I've been a Glock shooter, and frequent carrier of a Glock, for 22 years now. But there are certain ways to safely carry and handle and choose a holster for the Glock to prevent negligent (no such thing as accidental) discharges. He really spent a lot of time breaking down various Glocks there and having the kids reassemble them.
El Fisho has been shooting Glocks now for over 7 years, mixed between the 21sf, 36, 26 and 19. Even he and I learned some new stuff, and I'm fairly knowledgeable on "Glock-age" and learned a few things.
So even the mandatory fun of a gun safety lecture was something to write home about.
My intuition about kids of today being fascinated with revolvers was correct. When Bob Jr. and I were unpacking the handguns that the kids were going to shoot at Bob's shooting range on his place and discussing differences in operation between single and double action and such, one of the kids asked if they were REALLY GOING TO SHOOT REVOLVERS!?!!!!! and all were clearly excited.
All these kids have parents who hunt deer and hogs and predators and who own fairly extensive gun collections, but I think a couple might have a J frame snubbie and all other handguns are semi-autos. It was the policeman's kid who really was excited about shooting the revolvers, and I made sure he shot them as much as he wanted to.
At our cliffside shooting range, shooting against a tall hill with a cliff on the shooting side, various small Gatorade bottles and cola cans had been arranged on the various levels of dirt in front of the cliff.
We had a shooting table set up about 30 feet from the targets, and I pretty much steadily handled the reloading of all the guns for a couple of hours. The kids were laughing when shooting revolvers they were having so much fun. All are experienced with semi-autos, but only my son really had any extensive experience with revolvers, which he was trained on (Bearcat).
For myself, I had brought along a FN FiveseveN with fixed sights.
I've had it for awhile, and had been to indoor ranges with it several times, but never
I was extra, extra pleased with the plinking accuracy of the 5.7. I had previously run a couple of hundred rounds through it at the range, not yet entering it into a carry rotation because I didn't like the so-called concealment holsters I had found for it. Note that I did recently find a great concealment holster for it in the Mr. Softy by High Noon Holsters, and cheap too.
I could do no wrong with the FN. I hit EVERY target EVERY time. Now, like many shooters, I shoot much better with a Glock (when it comes to target shooting) than I do with most other semi-autos. I can shoot as well as a Glock with a good revolver, but of course for so many revolvers are either passe or like some of these kids, more or less unknown, only seen in video games.
I did some pretty long range shooting with it as well, hitting an old rusted wash tub some 75 yards away several times, and missing a couple of times. A large target, admittedly, but I look forward to some more outdoors long range shooting with the 5.7 as it is capable of amazing things distance wise for a handgun with it's fast moving and flat shooting round.
With the 5.7, I felt like Robert Redford's Sundance Kid character sorta, as I sent several bottles airborne in "point and shoot" shots that came after running through the targets three times back and forth in order, and all of this requiring only one mag change with rounds to spare in the 2nd mag. I wasn't "moving when I shoot" like Redford's Sundance requires, but I was very pleased with this gun and cartridge and how well I was able to shoot it.
So all the kids took a few shots with the 5.7, as did Bob Jr. Bob is more or less a meat and potatoes gun guy, having Colts, Smiths, Rugers and a host of fine long guns including many uniquely calibered AR type guns. Bob Jr. said the same thing I do..."I shoot better with a Glock than other guns but shoot better with this FN than with a Glock." Bob Jr. was asking a lot of questions about it, and is quite the gun guy, and I expect to see him with one soon.
So there's that.
The FN kicks a wee bit more than the Kel-Tec PMR-30, a 30 round .22 magnum fun gun, meaning it kicks like a peppy .22, more or less.
I run Pachmayr slip on grips on the 5.7. They don't make a model specially for the 5.7, but the ones I have for Glock compacts fit them fine. In fact, I have found that the Glock 19/etc model fits the FN9, the Walther P30 and the Steyr. The FN9 and the 5.7 have a bit too sharp of raised portions on their grip panels for my liking, so the Pachmayr slip on grips, the ones with holes for the Gen3 Glocks finger grooves and perforations on other parts of the grip make them a good fit for a lot of like sized guns.
It's no secret to longtime readers here that I've been a Pachmayr user since 1981, when I began serious shooting of big bore and magnum handguns. It really makes a difference to me, no matter what some internet comment experts might posit, because I know from personal use how much more pleasant it is to shoot almost any gun with some kind of Pachmayr or Hogue grip on it.
So for me, adding the Pachmayr slip on grip to the 5.7 makes both a bit more comfortable to shoot, not so much for recoil reduction but for the abrasive grip surface and front and backstrap. Now, for concealment, and maybe it's just my imagination, but I feel as if the 5.7 is easier to conceal without the Pachmayr slip on grips, even though they add little to the profile of the gun.
Perhaps it's because these grip slip ons tend to hold clothing and print parts of the gun through clothing easier. I just really feel the gun is more concealable sans the slip on grips, and really they are just for comfort and not for recoil reduction on this unique handgun.
As an aside, a few weeks ago my friend Max and I were talking and both bemoaning the lack of a reasonably priced long gun chambering the FN 5.7 round. I'd love to see the single shot takedown gun, similarly to an H&R but made by someone else I think, that's made for the .300 Blackout round. It should be no biggie to just bore that same barrel for the 5.7 x 28 round. As far as I'm aware, there is just the expensive FN P90 assault rifle that shoots the 5.7.
I put a lot of rounds through it that day, perhaps around 200 just myself, and I've yet to have a jam using the two types of FN factory available ammo. No issues with operation. No failures to feed or eject. In fact, it ejects those cartridges about 15 feet away!
So it shoots small groups at the range at long distances and is hell on plastic bottles and cola cans.
Several of my Texas ranching and farming friends swear by three guns for hog hunting...the .44 magnum, the Glock 10mm and the FN 5.7. That's three very different calibers and two different cartridge/bullet design that seem to achieve the same results, namely, hogs dead with one shot stops.
As I and many others have mentioned lately on other blogs and sites, hogs around Texas I've encountered have avoided conflict with people unless cornered. Javalina, from South and West Texas, have cornered people in trees while folks were out hunting. Ask me how I know this.
But lately, the feral hogs we have here in Texas have been attacking some folks, including a fisherman who was at a farm pond. He ended up shooting the hog, but didn't escape unscathed. They had some show on the Animal Planet I think about Mutant Hogs from Hell or something like that. Lots of the places with what can only be called swarms of hogs were real near me, places I could drive to in 25 minutes to an hour.
When I got cornered by those javalina in South Texas several decades ago, it was fortunate that I was young and limber enough to shinny up a rough barked live oak tree high enough to keep me safe from the black javalina that swarmed down the wash I was traversing.
I had been bird hunting with friends and was taking a different route back to camp, walking down a deep wash/dry creek bed, when I heard a stampede coming toward me. When I saw what it was I ran to the only safe haven available, a tree.
I had just a few rounds left from my morning hunt, which I had retained lest I encounter any snakes. So it wasn't near enough rounds to make a dent in the javalina population that was bumping into my tree and trying to knock me out of said tree.
But if I'd a had a 5.7, with a couple of 30 round magazines, I could have made a real good dent in their numbers, enough to send the remainder hightailing it.
Bottom line: My experiences with the fixed sight FN 5.7 out of the box have just been fantastic with really amazing accuracy.
So, as what turned out to be the coolest birthday party ever for Bob III thrown by his parents and paternal grandparents at the old family place and deer camp and weekend getaway. There were many cool things about this 75 or so acre place, including indian carvings, spanish settler road markings on rocks and a TON of wildlife we saw like coyotes, wolves, groundhogs, both javalina and the larger feral hogs, deer and bobcats, all during the daytime, all on property that is hunted regularly for predators and seasonally for deer and turkey. We just missed several turkey we stalked up on, finding instead several large feathers freshly left upon their getaway.
Part of the festivities was skeet shooting, and I was glad I had brought some extra shells in case the host, Bob Jr., needed them. In all, the 4 kids shot off about 600 rounds total in skeet in a couple of hours.
I also brought a small selection of .22 handguns, including some revolvers, for the kids to shoot. I had stocked up on .22 before the most recent "shortage", and have picked up boxes since whenever .22's are found, which is still somewhat rare in areas. Walmarts never have them. So I brought a brick of .22's because they go fast.
Everyone brought a Glock of some kind, and one of the kids brought a Model 23 of his dad's, a police sergeant work friend of mine.
So I was invited along to act as a helper and fellow rangemaster with Bob Jr. and Bob Sr. More about the loveable man, a retired fire chief, in my later post on the trip. Bob Jr. did an excellent 45 minute long gun safety lecture. I've given the same talks, and I was impressed. It was interactive and seemed to sink in. I then helped Bob Jr. talk about operating the different guns he and I had brought out there, the different safety procedures for each one, and so on.
I must salute the Glock operating lecture he gave. Glock should video it and include it with each consumer gun sold. I've been a Glock shooter, and frequent carrier of a Glock, for 22 years now. But there are certain ways to safely carry and handle and choose a holster for the Glock to prevent negligent (no such thing as accidental) discharges. He really spent a lot of time breaking down various Glocks there and having the kids reassemble them.
El Fisho has been shooting Glocks now for over 7 years, mixed between the 21sf, 36, 26 and 19. Even he and I learned some new stuff, and I'm fairly knowledgeable on "Glock-age" and learned a few things.
So even the mandatory fun of a gun safety lecture was something to write home about.
My intuition about kids of today being fascinated with revolvers was correct. When Bob Jr. and I were unpacking the handguns that the kids were going to shoot at Bob's shooting range on his place and discussing differences in operation between single and double action and such, one of the kids asked if they were REALLY GOING TO SHOOT REVOLVERS!?!!!!! and all were clearly excited.
All these kids have parents who hunt deer and hogs and predators and who own fairly extensive gun collections, but I think a couple might have a J frame snubbie and all other handguns are semi-autos. It was the policeman's kid who really was excited about shooting the revolvers, and I made sure he shot them as much as he wanted to.
At our cliffside shooting range, shooting against a tall hill with a cliff on the shooting side, various small Gatorade bottles and cola cans had been arranged on the various levels of dirt in front of the cliff.
We had a shooting table set up about 30 feet from the targets, and I pretty much steadily handled the reloading of all the guns for a couple of hours. The kids were laughing when shooting revolvers they were having so much fun. All are experienced with semi-autos, but only my son really had any extensive experience with revolvers, which he was trained on (Bearcat).
For myself, I had brought along a FN FiveseveN with fixed sights.
I've had it for awhile, and had been to indoor ranges with it several times, but never
I was extra, extra pleased with the plinking accuracy of the 5.7. I had previously run a couple of hundred rounds through it at the range, not yet entering it into a carry rotation because I didn't like the so-called concealment holsters I had found for it. Note that I did recently find a great concealment holster for it in the Mr. Softy by High Noon Holsters, and cheap too.
I could do no wrong with the FN. I hit EVERY target EVERY time. Now, like many shooters, I shoot much better with a Glock (when it comes to target shooting) than I do with most other semi-autos. I can shoot as well as a Glock with a good revolver, but of course for so many revolvers are either passe or like some of these kids, more or less unknown, only seen in video games.
I did some pretty long range shooting with it as well, hitting an old rusted wash tub some 75 yards away several times, and missing a couple of times. A large target, admittedly, but I look forward to some more outdoors long range shooting with the 5.7 as it is capable of amazing things distance wise for a handgun with it's fast moving and flat shooting round.
With the 5.7, I felt like Robert Redford's Sundance Kid character sorta, as I sent several bottles airborne in "point and shoot" shots that came after running through the targets three times back and forth in order, and all of this requiring only one mag change with rounds to spare in the 2nd mag. I wasn't "moving when I shoot" like Redford's Sundance requires, but I was very pleased with this gun and cartridge and how well I was able to shoot it.
So all the kids took a few shots with the 5.7, as did Bob Jr. Bob is more or less a meat and potatoes gun guy, having Colts, Smiths, Rugers and a host of fine long guns including many uniquely calibered AR type guns. Bob Jr. said the same thing I do..."I shoot better with a Glock than other guns but shoot better with this FN than with a Glock." Bob Jr. was asking a lot of questions about it, and is quite the gun guy, and I expect to see him with one soon.
So there's that.
The FN kicks a wee bit more than the Kel-Tec PMR-30, a 30 round .22 magnum fun gun, meaning it kicks like a peppy .22, more or less.
I run Pachmayr slip on grips on the 5.7. They don't make a model specially for the 5.7, but the ones I have for Glock compacts fit them fine. In fact, I have found that the Glock 19/etc model fits the FN9, the Walther P30 and the Steyr. The FN9 and the 5.7 have a bit too sharp of raised portions on their grip panels for my liking, so the Pachmayr slip on grips, the ones with holes for the Gen3 Glocks finger grooves and perforations on other parts of the grip make them a good fit for a lot of like sized guns.
It's no secret to longtime readers here that I've been a Pachmayr user since 1981, when I began serious shooting of big bore and magnum handguns. It really makes a difference to me, no matter what some internet comment experts might posit, because I know from personal use how much more pleasant it is to shoot almost any gun with some kind of Pachmayr or Hogue grip on it.
So for me, adding the Pachmayr slip on grip to the 5.7 makes both a bit more comfortable to shoot, not so much for recoil reduction but for the abrasive grip surface and front and backstrap. Now, for concealment, and maybe it's just my imagination, but I feel as if the 5.7 is easier to conceal without the Pachmayr slip on grips, even though they add little to the profile of the gun.
Perhaps it's because these grip slip ons tend to hold clothing and print parts of the gun through clothing easier. I just really feel the gun is more concealable sans the slip on grips, and really they are just for comfort and not for recoil reduction on this unique handgun.
As an aside, a few weeks ago my friend Max and I were talking and both bemoaning the lack of a reasonably priced long gun chambering the FN 5.7 round. I'd love to see the single shot takedown gun, similarly to an H&R but made by someone else I think, that's made for the .300 Blackout round. It should be no biggie to just bore that same barrel for the 5.7 x 28 round. As far as I'm aware, there is just the expensive FN P90 assault rifle that shoots the 5.7.
I put a lot of rounds through it that day, perhaps around 200 just myself, and I've yet to have a jam using the two types of FN factory available ammo. No issues with operation. No failures to feed or eject. In fact, it ejects those cartridges about 15 feet away!
So it shoots small groups at the range at long distances and is hell on plastic bottles and cola cans.
Several of my Texas ranching and farming friends swear by three guns for hog hunting...the .44 magnum, the Glock 10mm and the FN 5.7. That's three very different calibers and two different cartridge/bullet design that seem to achieve the same results, namely, hogs dead with one shot stops.
As I and many others have mentioned lately on other blogs and sites, hogs around Texas I've encountered have avoided conflict with people unless cornered. Javalina, from South and West Texas, have cornered people in trees while folks were out hunting. Ask me how I know this.
But lately, the feral hogs we have here in Texas have been attacking some folks, including a fisherman who was at a farm pond. He ended up shooting the hog, but didn't escape unscathed. They had some show on the Animal Planet I think about Mutant Hogs from Hell or something like that. Lots of the places with what can only be called swarms of hogs were real near me, places I could drive to in 25 minutes to an hour.
When I got cornered by those javalina in South Texas several decades ago, it was fortunate that I was young and limber enough to shinny up a rough barked live oak tree high enough to keep me safe from the black javalina that swarmed down the wash I was traversing.
I had been bird hunting with friends and was taking a different route back to camp, walking down a deep wash/dry creek bed, when I heard a stampede coming toward me. When I saw what it was I ran to the only safe haven available, a tree.
I had just a few rounds left from my morning hunt, which I had retained lest I encounter any snakes. So it wasn't near enough rounds to make a dent in the javalina population that was bumping into my tree and trying to knock me out of said tree.
But if I'd a had a 5.7, with a couple of 30 round magazines, I could have made a real good dent in their numbers, enough to send the remainder hightailing it.
Bottom line: My experiences with the fixed sight FN 5.7 out of the box have just been fantastic with really amazing accuracy.
THE MICROTECH HALO
Here's a link to a site called "dude i want that" that has a lot of junk products featured but some otherwise interesting stuff like this supersized functional HALO knife. A regular sized Halo makes a quick appearance in this video.
I have a Halo knife, now legal in Texas. It's a great knife in terms of the blade alone, which is a massive piece of steel with an extremely sharp edge and strong back. I've owned many knives in my life, but the only two knives that come to mind that are as sturdy and kick-butt and useful and STRONG are the Buck folding 110 and the Puma White Hunter.
I first saw a Halo in one of the early Jack Bauer "24" seasons when Sutherland threatened a bad guy pretending to be innocent with the statement that since the bad guy just pulled a Microtech Halo on him, Bauer would assume he was no corporate chief as he was pretending but was instead allied with some terrorists.
After reading up on the Halo, of course I was dismayed because back then switchblades were illegal in Texas. Since then, things have changed as of September 1, 2013, and switchblades are now legal. That's a real Yee-haw as far as I'm concerned.
I have not yet funded a purchase for a nice Beltrame classic Italian switchblade in black or white because I have not found the exact one in stock at my new preferred dealer who charges very reasonable prices, PVK.com, which is Pioneer Valley Knives. Great prices and super fast shipping and great communication and no problems whatsoever.
In Texas, switchblades need to be single sided blades to be legal. I prefer a maximum of a five inch blade, which is under the legal maximum, although I do like three and four inch blades.
The Halo I got came with a very heavy duty cordura or some like material sheath that can be attached to a belt or pack in a vertical or horizontal manner. It's thick enough material to:
#1 Prevent an accidental discharge in the sheath since the Halo has no safety, or
#2 Prevent the blade from penetrating the really sturdy sheath and injuring the person carrying the sheath.
I bought a Kydex sheath from a guy online, and I'll post later with a link. Good job for an IWB holster, although I've got some ideas of my own I've sketched. The kydex holster for the Halo is basically a three sided holster with a split down one end so the knife can be deployed. I'd like one to be a little deeper and longer so to cover more of the handle and provide a holster that rides a little deeper in the waistband than the one I have.
The Kydex IWB holster I bought also makes for a very secure and concealable front pocket holster for the Halo, which is my preferred carry method.
The Halo is an extremely well made knife. It makes a loud THWACK! when it opens out the front, so loud that dogs and the cat, even if in another room, jump when it opens. It's really a solid piece of kit.
I'd have to think opening it would have some deterrent effect on a gunless attacker (I wouldn't recommend taking a knife to a gunfight) just by the very presentation of it's serious looking blade, again with the loud THWACK as the blade slams into place. It's a visceral and physical noise that literally makes most people recoil a bit, even if they know it's coming in a demo.
Tell me about your favorite knives.
I have a Halo knife, now legal in Texas. It's a great knife in terms of the blade alone, which is a massive piece of steel with an extremely sharp edge and strong back. I've owned many knives in my life, but the only two knives that come to mind that are as sturdy and kick-butt and useful and STRONG are the Buck folding 110 and the Puma White Hunter.
I first saw a Halo in one of the early Jack Bauer "24" seasons when Sutherland threatened a bad guy pretending to be innocent with the statement that since the bad guy just pulled a Microtech Halo on him, Bauer would assume he was no corporate chief as he was pretending but was instead allied with some terrorists.
After reading up on the Halo, of course I was dismayed because back then switchblades were illegal in Texas. Since then, things have changed as of September 1, 2013, and switchblades are now legal. That's a real Yee-haw as far as I'm concerned.
I have not yet funded a purchase for a nice Beltrame classic Italian switchblade in black or white because I have not found the exact one in stock at my new preferred dealer who charges very reasonable prices, PVK.com, which is Pioneer Valley Knives. Great prices and super fast shipping and great communication and no problems whatsoever.
In Texas, switchblades need to be single sided blades to be legal. I prefer a maximum of a five inch blade, which is under the legal maximum, although I do like three and four inch blades.
The Halo I got came with a very heavy duty cordura or some like material sheath that can be attached to a belt or pack in a vertical or horizontal manner. It's thick enough material to:
#1 Prevent an accidental discharge in the sheath since the Halo has no safety, or
#2 Prevent the blade from penetrating the really sturdy sheath and injuring the person carrying the sheath.
I bought a Kydex sheath from a guy online, and I'll post later with a link. Good job for an IWB holster, although I've got some ideas of my own I've sketched. The kydex holster for the Halo is basically a three sided holster with a split down one end so the knife can be deployed. I'd like one to be a little deeper and longer so to cover more of the handle and provide a holster that rides a little deeper in the waistband than the one I have.
The Kydex IWB holster I bought also makes for a very secure and concealable front pocket holster for the Halo, which is my preferred carry method.
The Halo is an extremely well made knife. It makes a loud THWACK! when it opens out the front, so loud that dogs and the cat, even if in another room, jump when it opens. It's really a solid piece of kit.
I'd have to think opening it would have some deterrent effect on a gunless attacker (I wouldn't recommend taking a knife to a gunfight) just by the very presentation of it's serious looking blade, again with the loud THWACK as the blade slams into place. It's a visceral and physical noise that literally makes most people recoil a bit, even if they know it's coming in a demo.
Tell me about your favorite knives.
Monday, January 27, 2014
ICE, ICE BABY
No, I didn't care much for the whole Vanilla Ice thing, and it's unfortunate that he's become a caricature but I did like that one song. I was still single and young and visiting bars on occasion so at the time that song was popular, it was unavoidable. There is some early rap I get into, but it's mostly the Beastie Boys and the group that did the song with Aerosmith, Run DMC. I also liked that first Tone Loc album. The whole thing grooved. But Tone Loc marks about the end of my knowledge of Rap.
For the first time in years, we had an ice storm here where I live in Central Texas. Wild Ed wrote about it over on his site last week. I'm sure he had it worse than we did, as he's in the Hill Country and in an area that regularly gets ice and maybe some snow every now and then.
Down here in Texas, or at least further south in Texas where icy roads are not a way of life every winter, folks don't know how to drive on ice, and thus numerous avoidable accidents occur. Now, if the news and the weather say stay home because the roads are icy, then you should be staying your rear end home unless you're a public servant like a fireman, EMT, postman or policeman or a doctor heading to deliver a baby or save a life.
But no, countless folks fail to heed that warning, often for some stupid reason, and end up hurt or dead.
So ice driving is at our home like New Years Eve. It's a good time to hunker down and leave the driving to the others.
We've allegedly got more ice coming this evening, with temps in the 20's and some possible sleet action early this evening and into tomorrow morning. Mrs. El Fisho laughs at my foreboding warnings, she having spent years once on the North Slope of Alaska during real winters, and having gone to college in Montana with real winters, and hailing from a state north of the Mason-Dixon line that features snow on the ground for months every year and the "Lake Effect Winds" being located near the Great Lakes.
Mrs. El Fisho has driven a 4WD Ford F-350 on a regular basis when working on the Slope to get from her residence to her office in -60 degree weather in blizzards. She rocks.
So while my wife has much snow and ice driving experience and numerous courses on such driving, the rest of the folks like me in Texas have none.
My ice story goes back a quarter of a century when I was in law school in Houston. It was in December of 1988, and we were having bad ice storms. In fact, as do many towns like Houston and Austin when ice storms hit, the whole town basically did shut down. Really.
A huge ice storm hit during finals. All my other profs called us and said no school tomorrow, However, one asinine law professor (from the Virgin Islands, no less) called each of the 15 students that next morning as we were awaking and having our coffee and watching tv waiting for our school to be announced as closing for the day since we had not yet heard from said asinine professor.
The asinine professor called and lived up to his nickname. Our teacher told us we would be having our exam that day, with no make-ups due to the weather, and to be there at 9 am sharp. Since it was the only exam in that class, a miss would equal a fail.
I set out for school in my rear wheel drive Toyota Supra. It did not like the ice. At all. I lived about 20 miles away at that time. Still, until I got to a Houston freeway interchange, things were going well, although the roads were very icy.
As I made my way from one freeway onto another, my car decided to go into the spin mode and I spun my way down the entrance ramp to the new freeway, turning maybe 3 or 4 times completely around as I descended. I just took my hands off the wheel and feet off the gas and brakes and let the car go where it was going to go. And yes, I was "scar'dt". Very Scar'dt.
God was with me that day as I came to a stop at the bottom of the ramp uninjured and without having collided into anything. I slowly proceeded to school on the shoulder of the road, which for some reason was ice-free.
My 15 classmates and I, all being very success oriented, made it to school from different parts of town. No one wrecked out, but most had harrowing tales of daring-do like mine. As we climbed the steps to the building where the classes exam was to be held, I took a slip and fall off an ice patch and threw my dang back out. It stayed out until well past Christmas.
As we sat there in class, each furious at nearly killing ourselves in the name of our education, a janitor came into the classroom. He told us we could all go because our teacher had called and said that he decided it was too dangerous for him to travel to school that day.
We students all went and found a coffee shop nearby that was open, because most of the school was closed including the cafeteria. We hung out for several hours waiting for the ice to ease up enough to get back to our homes, and making calls about road conditions in those pre-internet and pre-cell phone days trying to find safer routes home. We also plotted revenge against that professor. All sorts of revenge.
So I was glad a few weeks later when we returned to school and I found that I had made an A in that class. All of us had made an A, with no exams ever, other than questions given in class.
Over the Christmas break, one of my classmates, no doubt using those tools she'd learned in summer internships, told the professor that he expected an A for risking her life that day and that if she and the class didn't get an "A" and a walk on the exam, that my friend would be talking to not only "the media" (I think back then we called it the "news" media) but also the school administration about the law suit she was planning for endangering his life.
Sometimes, just sometimes, justice even happens in law school.
For the first time in years, we had an ice storm here where I live in Central Texas. Wild Ed wrote about it over on his site last week. I'm sure he had it worse than we did, as he's in the Hill Country and in an area that regularly gets ice and maybe some snow every now and then.
Down here in Texas, or at least further south in Texas where icy roads are not a way of life every winter, folks don't know how to drive on ice, and thus numerous avoidable accidents occur. Now, if the news and the weather say stay home because the roads are icy, then you should be staying your rear end home unless you're a public servant like a fireman, EMT, postman or policeman or a doctor heading to deliver a baby or save a life.
But no, countless folks fail to heed that warning, often for some stupid reason, and end up hurt or dead.
So ice driving is at our home like New Years Eve. It's a good time to hunker down and leave the driving to the others.
We've allegedly got more ice coming this evening, with temps in the 20's and some possible sleet action early this evening and into tomorrow morning. Mrs. El Fisho laughs at my foreboding warnings, she having spent years once on the North Slope of Alaska during real winters, and having gone to college in Montana with real winters, and hailing from a state north of the Mason-Dixon line that features snow on the ground for months every year and the "Lake Effect Winds" being located near the Great Lakes.
Mrs. El Fisho has driven a 4WD Ford F-350 on a regular basis when working on the Slope to get from her residence to her office in -60 degree weather in blizzards. She rocks.
So while my wife has much snow and ice driving experience and numerous courses on such driving, the rest of the folks like me in Texas have none.
My ice story goes back a quarter of a century when I was in law school in Houston. It was in December of 1988, and we were having bad ice storms. In fact, as do many towns like Houston and Austin when ice storms hit, the whole town basically did shut down. Really.
A huge ice storm hit during finals. All my other profs called us and said no school tomorrow, However, one asinine law professor (from the Virgin Islands, no less) called each of the 15 students that next morning as we were awaking and having our coffee and watching tv waiting for our school to be announced as closing for the day since we had not yet heard from said asinine professor.
The asinine professor called and lived up to his nickname. Our teacher told us we would be having our exam that day, with no make-ups due to the weather, and to be there at 9 am sharp. Since it was the only exam in that class, a miss would equal a fail.
I set out for school in my rear wheel drive Toyota Supra. It did not like the ice. At all. I lived about 20 miles away at that time. Still, until I got to a Houston freeway interchange, things were going well, although the roads were very icy.
As I made my way from one freeway onto another, my car decided to go into the spin mode and I spun my way down the entrance ramp to the new freeway, turning maybe 3 or 4 times completely around as I descended. I just took my hands off the wheel and feet off the gas and brakes and let the car go where it was going to go. And yes, I was "scar'dt". Very Scar'dt.
God was with me that day as I came to a stop at the bottom of the ramp uninjured and without having collided into anything. I slowly proceeded to school on the shoulder of the road, which for some reason was ice-free.
My 15 classmates and I, all being very success oriented, made it to school from different parts of town. No one wrecked out, but most had harrowing tales of daring-do like mine. As we climbed the steps to the building where the classes exam was to be held, I took a slip and fall off an ice patch and threw my dang back out. It stayed out until well past Christmas.
As we sat there in class, each furious at nearly killing ourselves in the name of our education, a janitor came into the classroom. He told us we could all go because our teacher had called and said that he decided it was too dangerous for him to travel to school that day.
We students all went and found a coffee shop nearby that was open, because most of the school was closed including the cafeteria. We hung out for several hours waiting for the ice to ease up enough to get back to our homes, and making calls about road conditions in those pre-internet and pre-cell phone days trying to find safer routes home. We also plotted revenge against that professor. All sorts of revenge.
So I was glad a few weeks later when we returned to school and I found that I had made an A in that class. All of us had made an A, with no exams ever, other than questions given in class.
Over the Christmas break, one of my classmates, no doubt using those tools she'd learned in summer internships, told the professor that he expected an A for risking her life that day and that if she and the class didn't get an "A" and a walk on the exam, that my friend would be talking to not only "the media" (I think back then we called it the "news" media) but also the school administration about the law suit she was planning for endangering his life.
Sometimes, just sometimes, justice even happens in law school.
Friday, January 24, 2014
ALESSI HOLSTER REVIEW: IWB COMMANDER HOLSTER
I got this holster off ebay for the screaming price of about $20.00. It's used but like brand new, and if it had been worn before I got it, it was worn very little.
It's a smooth, finished leather finish on the exterior, tanned a nice dark brown color on the exterior, and it's unfinished but still smooth on the interior. It's a thin and supple piece of leather, but thick enough to hold a heavy steel frame gun and support it well. Of course, it also works well with lighter weight commanders like the Kimber Pro Carry.
It does not have a reinforced lip around the top of the holster, and doesn't need it for reholstering the gun. It's the perfect medium between thick enough to reholster a gun but not so thick as to be inflexible and uncomfortable. It doesn't stick to your skin but when worn without an undershirt underneath the holster, it stays in place due to the nice finish. So basically the holster doesn't move but it also doesn't stick to your skin. Bravo.
It has a black plastic clip instead of my preferred wide metal clip, but I've come to like their clip version. This clip features a J shaped piece at the bottom that secures the clip under the belt in addition to the clip's spring pressure, to keep the holster in when the gun is removed. This clip is a bit more difficult to remove from some of my thicker (i.e. gunbelts) belts and there have been times that it has been almost impossible to get the clip holster off the belt with the gun in the holster.
This is a good thing. If the holster is properly worn with the belt clip dealiebobber clipping under the belt, then this holster is not coming with the gun when the gun is drawn or removed from the holster.
The holster also has a sweat shield/hammer protector (i.e. to protect your side from the hammer of the holstered gun). It's the perfect size for the Commander, but when used for the Browning Hi Power the traditional hammer sometimes will poke my side when moving in a certain way.
I guess this means I should order one of these for the Hi Power with the request that the sweat shield be enlarged for the hammer of the Hi Power. But since this holster is designed for the Commander, generally these holsters will perfectly fit a Hi Power as well.
This was my third Alessi holster and my favorite IWB holster for the 1911 Commander. It also perfectly fits the Browning Hi Power and has become the go-to 1st choice IWB holster for the Browning as well. Prior to the arrival of this Alessi IWB holster, my go-to IWB holster for the 1911 and Browning Hi Power was the venerable Bianchi rough out suede Model 6.
I'll note that my other two Alessi holsters, also bought used off of ebay, are excellently finished as well. One is a hard molded 3" N frame belt holster which reminds me of the T-Man or Treasury model that used to be made by the late Chic Gaylord, a guru of combat holstermaking. It fits a 3" N frame like a glove with retention yet an easy draw. My other holster is a shoulder holster for the H&K P7 and is the unique "pull through" design wherein the holster retention snap is INSIDE the triggerguard of the P7. Although they make these for other autos like the 1911, I'm a little nervous putting the holster snap IN the triggerguard of a 1911. The P7 IS the gun built for this type of shoulder holster, due to the squeeze cocking system that the P7 uses.
Some of my commander holsters, like an excellent Mitch Rosen molded belt slide/pancake type holster design sold through Galco, won't fit the Hi Power or a 5" 1911. They are wet molded so tight to the Commander size that a full size 1911 or Hi Power simply won't fully insert and can't be forced. That's a well made holster as well.
But this Alessi IWB will also take a full size 5" 1911, and even those with a vertical backside on their front sight. The holster runs about 1/2" long past the Commander barrel, and the 5" 1911 barrel just peeks out a wee bit from the bottom.
Using various full size 1911's with big front sights, I've tried to match it catch in the holster and it won't do it. Smooth draw every time.
As a fellow who has been using one brand of IWB holster (the Bianchi Model 6) for the Commander and Government 1911's and the Browning Hi Power since 1981, it's a sea change for me to go with this new Alessi. I wore the Bianchi model 6 to work the other day with the commander, taking the Alessi in the briefcase just in case. The Bianchi made it about an hour before being switched out because the Bianchi just didn't stay put as well as the Alessi.
I still use the Bianchi Model 6 for J and K frame revolvers, with my favorite trick being to use a larger size .38/357 (K frame snubnose) holster for the 5 shot J frame as well as Colt snubnoses. The K frame snubbie Model 6 holster is just a bit bigger than it's smaller J frame cousin, and holds a J frame a bit deeper and more concealed than the J frame version does.
I won't sell my two Bianchi Model 6 IWB 1911 holsters I have. But since getting this Alessi, only one has been used as mentioned above in the 8 months that I've had this Alessi IWB.
Rating: 5 stars
Excellent holster with above-average construction, super excellent fit and gorgeous to look at (when not wearing it since it's IWB). It holds the gun at just the right spot, offering enough grip for a secure purchase but holding the gun close to the body so it is concealable under a T shirt. I highly recommend.
It's a smooth, finished leather finish on the exterior, tanned a nice dark brown color on the exterior, and it's unfinished but still smooth on the interior. It's a thin and supple piece of leather, but thick enough to hold a heavy steel frame gun and support it well. Of course, it also works well with lighter weight commanders like the Kimber Pro Carry.
It does not have a reinforced lip around the top of the holster, and doesn't need it for reholstering the gun. It's the perfect medium between thick enough to reholster a gun but not so thick as to be inflexible and uncomfortable. It doesn't stick to your skin but when worn without an undershirt underneath the holster, it stays in place due to the nice finish. So basically the holster doesn't move but it also doesn't stick to your skin. Bravo.
It has a black plastic clip instead of my preferred wide metal clip, but I've come to like their clip version. This clip features a J shaped piece at the bottom that secures the clip under the belt in addition to the clip's spring pressure, to keep the holster in when the gun is removed. This clip is a bit more difficult to remove from some of my thicker (i.e. gunbelts) belts and there have been times that it has been almost impossible to get the clip holster off the belt with the gun in the holster.
This is a good thing. If the holster is properly worn with the belt clip dealiebobber clipping under the belt, then this holster is not coming with the gun when the gun is drawn or removed from the holster.
The holster also has a sweat shield/hammer protector (i.e. to protect your side from the hammer of the holstered gun). It's the perfect size for the Commander, but when used for the Browning Hi Power the traditional hammer sometimes will poke my side when moving in a certain way.
I guess this means I should order one of these for the Hi Power with the request that the sweat shield be enlarged for the hammer of the Hi Power. But since this holster is designed for the Commander, generally these holsters will perfectly fit a Hi Power as well.
This was my third Alessi holster and my favorite IWB holster for the 1911 Commander. It also perfectly fits the Browning Hi Power and has become the go-to 1st choice IWB holster for the Browning as well. Prior to the arrival of this Alessi IWB holster, my go-to IWB holster for the 1911 and Browning Hi Power was the venerable Bianchi rough out suede Model 6.
I'll note that my other two Alessi holsters, also bought used off of ebay, are excellently finished as well. One is a hard molded 3" N frame belt holster which reminds me of the T-Man or Treasury model that used to be made by the late Chic Gaylord, a guru of combat holstermaking. It fits a 3" N frame like a glove with retention yet an easy draw. My other holster is a shoulder holster for the H&K P7 and is the unique "pull through" design wherein the holster retention snap is INSIDE the triggerguard of the P7. Although they make these for other autos like the 1911, I'm a little nervous putting the holster snap IN the triggerguard of a 1911. The P7 IS the gun built for this type of shoulder holster, due to the squeeze cocking system that the P7 uses.
Some of my commander holsters, like an excellent Mitch Rosen molded belt slide/pancake type holster design sold through Galco, won't fit the Hi Power or a 5" 1911. They are wet molded so tight to the Commander size that a full size 1911 or Hi Power simply won't fully insert and can't be forced. That's a well made holster as well.
But this Alessi IWB will also take a full size 5" 1911, and even those with a vertical backside on their front sight. The holster runs about 1/2" long past the Commander barrel, and the 5" 1911 barrel just peeks out a wee bit from the bottom.
Using various full size 1911's with big front sights, I've tried to match it catch in the holster and it won't do it. Smooth draw every time.
As a fellow who has been using one brand of IWB holster (the Bianchi Model 6) for the Commander and Government 1911's and the Browning Hi Power since 1981, it's a sea change for me to go with this new Alessi. I wore the Bianchi model 6 to work the other day with the commander, taking the Alessi in the briefcase just in case. The Bianchi made it about an hour before being switched out because the Bianchi just didn't stay put as well as the Alessi.
I still use the Bianchi Model 6 for J and K frame revolvers, with my favorite trick being to use a larger size .38/357 (K frame snubnose) holster for the 5 shot J frame as well as Colt snubnoses. The K frame snubbie Model 6 holster is just a bit bigger than it's smaller J frame cousin, and holds a J frame a bit deeper and more concealed than the J frame version does.
I won't sell my two Bianchi Model 6 IWB 1911 holsters I have. But since getting this Alessi, only one has been used as mentioned above in the 8 months that I've had this Alessi IWB.
Rating: 5 stars
Excellent holster with above-average construction, super excellent fit and gorgeous to look at (when not wearing it since it's IWB). It holds the gun at just the right spot, offering enough grip for a secure purchase but holding the gun close to the body so it is concealable under a T shirt. I highly recommend.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
SILVER OR LEAD
Things in Mexico have taken a drastic turn of late in the state of Michoacan, where the cartel known as the Knights Templar or Templarios has been under attack by what seem to be well-armed vigilantes. The vigilantes have been grouped, per what I have read, primarily under two men: Dr. Mirales and Mr. Beltran. Dr. Mirales was recently injured in a small plane crash but survived and in his absence, Mr. Beltran has seemed to become the public voice of the vigilantes. However, I've seen news reports lately indicating that Dr. Mirales is back making statements to the media.
Some news reports hold the vigilantes out to either be soldiers for a warring cartel, trying to step into the shoes of the Templarios and just more or less like the Who said decades ago, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss".
Here's an article from today's L.A. Times about the current state of combat in a town of just over 30,000 residents.
Although the photos I've seen show the vigilantes to be armed with AR-15/M-4 and AK-47's and an occasional handgun, I'm thinking these are not the guns of a cartel supplied army. The vigilantes do not appear to be overarmed or over supplied with ammo. Many do appear to be wearing some sort of bulletproof or flak vest, but the vests are not set up like someone going into combat with money to spare would have them, i.e. well supplied with extra magazines, a handgun and magazines, a knife, etc.
In other words, to me the vigilantes do appear to be normal citizen types, particularly in some photos I've seen with their weapon selection (many hunting rifles and hunting shotguns instead of assault weapons) leads me to believe, along with their under-equipped state, that they are getting arms as they go and are not cartel supplied.
TIME magazine featured a photo spread on the conflict, as the Mexican Federal Government moved in. The vigilantes have agreed, as I understand it, to cease liberating communities (i.e. coming in and killing the Templarios) but they have refused to surrender their arms to the Mexican government.
Good for them. There have been numerous events in the past in Mexico that could have served as a catalyst for revolution, but to me this seems to be the closest they have been.
I get much of my information from several websites that feature reporting focused on the cartel violence all over Mexico, and my favorite is BORDERLAND BEAT. I'll link to some others later. And of course, the same reports you see in main stream media reports are often reported in more depth on some of the blogs that cover this tragedy.
So the vigilantes state that they are regular people of Michoacan and that first the cartels came in over a decade ago with the drug trade. Then they began controlling the ports of the state. The cartels expanded into blackmail, kidnapping, extortion and such among the local populations and businesses. It is often alleged that virtually every facet of government is controlled by the cartels, and not just in Michoacan but in all the other Mexican states, if not the national government.
So far, the Mexican Navy seems to be the only entity that is somewhat immune to corruption from the cartels.
The vigilantes say that as the cartels, the latest being the Templarios, began taking over local businesses and such, they also took over lime and avocado farms and took a fee from every basket produced. The Templars either are or were using the large Pacific port in the state to import precursers for methamphetamine and other drugs direct from China by the tanker load as well as taking in cocaine from South America.
That's big money. Enough billions to buy a government.
The vigilantes say that then the cartel members began raiding their towns and villages and taking their wives and daughters for rape and torture and that this was the last straw. They armed themselves and began attacking small villages and towns, killing the cartel members.
There have not been reports of major casualties on the sides of the vigilantes or the citizens of these towns, and they had been exhibiting growing success in attacking the cartel members and moving up in size as to the towns they were liberating from the cartel members.
Finally, earlier this week the Mexican Federal Government moved in and stopped the vigilantes from attacking a town of about 90,000. It seems as if the army did some shooting and apparently an 11 year old girl and several others were killed. The vigilantes are being held at a stalemate by the Federal Mexican Government and being told to stand down and disarm.
As I said, the vigilantes have opted to remain armed but agreed to stand down.
Certainly, anyone with a passing interest in the news knows the high numbers of innocents that have been killed by the different cartels all over Mexico in all kinds of tragic attacks. The gruesomeness (i.e. beheadings) of some of the attacks is unseen outside the third world, and it seems there is much venom and hatred and evil in the motives for the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, who have died in the past 15 years or so due to cartel violence of some kind.
Mexico now is worse than it was in the days of Pancho Villa, it seems. Lawlessness rages everywhere, as does injustice and corruption. Innocents are killed nowadays, whereas in the past I think an innocent was rarely killed. The state and the federal governments of Mexico seem to be, in large part, bought and paid for, and where it seems the government employees are incorruptible, they are killed.
Some of you may remember the young 20 year old woman, Marisol Valles Garcia, a criminal justice major in college, who several years ago dared to become the police chief of her small Mexican community, Praxedis somewhere near the Texas border. The media heralded her as a brave citizen, fed up with corruption and the cartels and how they affect the lives of average Mexican citizens, even in small towns like the one she hailed from. She is now in Texas, seeking asylum because of the death threats against her and her family.
The cartels, wheresoever located, will not go gentle into that good night if the vigilante movement spreads throughout the country.
The Mexican government of obviously afraid that this vigilante movement might spread to other parts of the country. Perhaps the status quo in the government is afraid their payoffs will stop or are afraid that if the cartels tumble they will be exposed as criminals themselves.
The freedom of the law abiding Mexican citizens in Michoacan is at grave danger right now. These people had lost their freedom. Now, after their fellow citizens dare to start taking back what is theirs from the Templarios, the government comes to the rescue of the Templarios.
Where is the Mexican Navy and why are they not taking out the Templarios that the vigilantes have not gotten yet.
I hope the rest of the citizens of Mexico take the acts of Dr. Mirales and Mr. Beltran and their fellow citizens to heart and do the same in their locale. Take their county back and then go to work on their government.
As the old saying goes, you may choose silver or lead. It is your choice when asked to dance with the cartels. You will take silver, or more increasingly pay silver, or take lead bullets. Soon, the choice for the cartels may be lead or life (if you run now).
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
SHOT SHOW 2014 STUFF (SO FAR) THAT IS COOL
First of all, Sig has been a very busy company. All kinds of new rifles from them, but more importantly something I and many others asked for in 2012: a 22 lr version of their 938 gun. It reminds of the old mini-1911 Llama .380/.32/.22 of the 70's and 80's. I always wanted one of those Llama mini-1911 in .22 but never got one. Now I can convert my 938 as Sig will be selling at .22 conversion kit for msrp of $302 as well as a "longslide" conversion kit with about an inch longer barrel. As Artie Johnson sometimes said on Laugh In, "Very Interesting".
I like the fact Sig made the conversion kit as well for all the current 938 owners as well as those wanting the .22 option for practicing cheaply.
But the great Sig .22 news doesn't end there, friends. The venerable Model 232, which in my opinion shoots better than the Walther PPK/S's I've owned in .380, is now in .22 as well, coming in at 21 oz. with empty mag. I need another 230, an alloy one, because it's a great gun. I think this .22 Sig 232 was priced msrp at $400. Screaming deal! I'll assume and hope against hope it won't be an "umarex-i-zation" a'la the recent disappointing Walther PPK/S in .22, which features a really bad DA trigger pull. I hope it is the same gun but in .22 caliber with real metal and not pot metal.
Both of these guns would be worthy .22's to carry for a wide variety of purposes.
As I've said, I'm not excited about the new .380 Glock Model 42. I would be excited if they said be patient a 9mm version in the same frame will be here later this year. I hope someone asks the question enough times that Glock figures out that a 9mm single stack the size of the .380 would sell like hotcakes.
No word that I've been able to find about Colt and the rumors of possibilities that DA revolvers might reappear in their catalog. One can hope, again, hoping against hope.
Smith and Wesson is bring back the 66 and other guns and lets hope they are not mere shadows of their former selves. I'm sure the Performance Center will spring forth with some cool guns and I've seen a few of them, as well as a ridiculously large-some-kind-of .460 caliber model handgun that resembles a longer barreled and cylindered Governor, kinda sorta.
Enough said there. I'm hoping the 66 is done up more like the Classic line than like their normal dull finished lineup. It would be nice to have a decent Model 66 and a Colt Python on the market at the same time, NIB.
Of course, there are a bunch of rifles and shotguns and accessories that are new. Slide Fire has some kind of mount that you put your M-4 type rifle in upside down and then I suppose it does some kind close to full auto firing, all apparently BATF approved.
Slide Fire has been all over the market with new products like the AK stocks since entering the market with the AR/M-4 platform stock, as I recall about 3 years ago. I remember investigators and cops I work with going gaga over the Slide Fire demos and going and getting a Slide-fire and a S&W M&P-15 Sport (the cheap one) and some 100 round drums and having some fun. Of course, this was before the recent and still lingering ammo shortage. It's a great concept and apparently they make them for bunches of rifles now. Everyone I know has been very pleased with their products, and it's a large group of folks I know that have them, for what that's worth. I really want to get one...it's on Santa's list for next year.
I'm going to see what else I can find of interest in the Shot Show pages...
I like the fact Sig made the conversion kit as well for all the current 938 owners as well as those wanting the .22 option for practicing cheaply.
But the great Sig .22 news doesn't end there, friends. The venerable Model 232, which in my opinion shoots better than the Walther PPK/S's I've owned in .380, is now in .22 as well, coming in at 21 oz. with empty mag. I need another 230, an alloy one, because it's a great gun. I think this .22 Sig 232 was priced msrp at $400. Screaming deal! I'll assume and hope against hope it won't be an "umarex-i-zation" a'la the recent disappointing Walther PPK/S in .22, which features a really bad DA trigger pull. I hope it is the same gun but in .22 caliber with real metal and not pot metal.
Both of these guns would be worthy .22's to carry for a wide variety of purposes.
As I've said, I'm not excited about the new .380 Glock Model 42. I would be excited if they said be patient a 9mm version in the same frame will be here later this year. I hope someone asks the question enough times that Glock figures out that a 9mm single stack the size of the .380 would sell like hotcakes.
No word that I've been able to find about Colt and the rumors of possibilities that DA revolvers might reappear in their catalog. One can hope, again, hoping against hope.
Smith and Wesson is bring back the 66 and other guns and lets hope they are not mere shadows of their former selves. I'm sure the Performance Center will spring forth with some cool guns and I've seen a few of them, as well as a ridiculously large-some-kind-of .460 caliber model handgun that resembles a longer barreled and cylindered Governor, kinda sorta.
Enough said there. I'm hoping the 66 is done up more like the Classic line than like their normal dull finished lineup. It would be nice to have a decent Model 66 and a Colt Python on the market at the same time, NIB.
Of course, there are a bunch of rifles and shotguns and accessories that are new. Slide Fire has some kind of mount that you put your M-4 type rifle in upside down and then I suppose it does some kind close to full auto firing, all apparently BATF approved.
Slide Fire has been all over the market with new products like the AK stocks since entering the market with the AR/M-4 platform stock, as I recall about 3 years ago. I remember investigators and cops I work with going gaga over the Slide Fire demos and going and getting a Slide-fire and a S&W M&P-15 Sport (the cheap one) and some 100 round drums and having some fun. Of course, this was before the recent and still lingering ammo shortage. It's a great concept and apparently they make them for bunches of rifles now. Everyone I know has been very pleased with their products, and it's a large group of folks I know that have them, for what that's worth. I really want to get one...it's on Santa's list for next year.
I'm going to see what else I can find of interest in the Shot Show pages...
Monday, January 13, 2014
EXCITING TIMES
I've read books by Hemingway, and about Hemingway, and he certainly lead and adventurous and exciting life. Lots of side issues going on as well but focusing on the good, he did have an exciting sporting life.
Likewise, I recently saw a cartoon by L.A. Times cartoonist David Horsey bemoaning the lack of motivation in the current generation of post-high schoolers versus the life of the late President T.R. Roosevelt. T.R. had an exciting life as well, and I was unaware until reading the commentary by Horsey that T.R. was the author of numerous books. I'll have to get a few to read. He too, had an exciting sporting life.
I did some googling about both of them, and found out that while President, Roosevelt carried his own handgun. As Vice President, Roosevelt had assumed office when President McKinley was assassinated. There's a couple of interesting stories about his gun totin' here, but I like the one about how, upon seeing Roosevelt with a large revolver (possibly a Colt .45), the apparently shocked President of Havard asked if he habitually carried a handgun,
Roosevelt replied "Yes, when I am going into public places".
Alright, I'm off to read some more Roosevelt stories on the net. Read a lot of stories about Hemingway yesterday. Both were such interesting figures.
Likewise, I recently saw a cartoon by L.A. Times cartoonist David Horsey bemoaning the lack of motivation in the current generation of post-high schoolers versus the life of the late President T.R. Roosevelt. T.R. had an exciting life as well, and I was unaware until reading the commentary by Horsey that T.R. was the author of numerous books. I'll have to get a few to read. He too, had an exciting sporting life.
I did some googling about both of them, and found out that while President, Roosevelt carried his own handgun. As Vice President, Roosevelt had assumed office when President McKinley was assassinated. There's a couple of interesting stories about his gun totin' here, but I like the one about how, upon seeing Roosevelt with a large revolver (possibly a Colt .45), the apparently shocked President of Havard asked if he habitually carried a handgun,
Roosevelt replied "Yes, when I am going into public places".
Alright, I'm off to read some more Roosevelt stories on the net. Read a lot of stories about Hemingway yesterday. Both were such interesting figures.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
SIMPLY RUGGED HOLSTER REVIEW
Over the past several years, I'd been seeing some well made mostly pancake style holsters used in the reviews over at Gunblast, where they never met a gun they didn't love. I do enjoy their personalities, and the photography, writing and details are generally excellent in their reviews, but if they have posted a review of a gun they did not like, please leave me a link in the comments section. I'd like to see it.
Notwithstanding their fan-boy stance on every weapon they review, I do enjoy the holsters they get made by various makers for these reviews. For a time, Rob Leahy over at Simply Rugged holsters was providing holsters, and they looked interesting.
Take the pancake style, for instance, and by the way, Simply Rugged does make other styles. Just check out their website or do as I do and find them on ebay and gun auction sites used.
All of the Simply Rugged holsters I have bought used off of ebay have been of the pancake variety. I've gotten four of them and each is a dandy in it's own special way.
I've got a pancake for the N-Frame 4" that is open bottom and will accommodate a longer barrel gun, like a 6". You need a good strong gun belt, a real gun belt though, when you're carrying that much fire. This holster also works for a 3" Ruger GP100 or a 2.5" or 6" Python. It also fits my 1917 revolvers with 3" and 5" barrels. It will also fit the hard to find a holster for Model 329PD.
I've got a similar pancake for the L frame 3", so it fits several guns well. It fits the Model 13 3" best of all, but will also fit a Model 66 2.5" (which have protruding rear adjustable sights). It also fits the also hard to find a holster for Model 386 sc Mountain Lite with a 3 1/8" barrel. This holster came with detachable belt loops in case you want to use this holster as an IWB holster. Very ingenious. I probably wouldn't use it as such, due to the thickness of the leather, but it's a nice option.
I recently got a J frame pancake holster with five ammo loops on the bottom front of the holster. Although it was made for a 340PD, it runs a bit long and would easily accommodate a 3" barrel j frame as well. The reason for the extra length, I assume, is the loops require some space below the cylinder. Because of the loops and the extra length, it's not a concealment holster, but I plan to have one of these made in a shorter length without the ammo loops. This holster, as opposed to the other two revolver pancake holsters which are plain, is basket stamped and of a very nice design and execution. Another hard to find a holster for gun, the 3" barreled Model 317 .22 L.R. Kit Gun (with fiber optic front sight) fits well in this holster, even though the ammo loops are for .38 Special/.357.
Finally, I have a pancake holster made for the Commander sized 1911, meaning it also perfectly fits the Browning Hi-Power. I've been using it an awful lot lately with the Hi-Power. This holster has a sweat shield that could be a bit larger to cover the hammer of the Hi-Power but it does cover the safety area of the gun. This holster is also a plain finish, and frankly is one of the the best concealing large frame auto belt holsters I've ever owned, and I've used most of the good designs. This holster is made of a bit thinner leather than the three revolver holsters mentioned above. It's still substantial leather and thick, just not as thick as the leather for the larger revolvers.
In conclusion, these are very well made holsters and a screaming deal even when new. They are frequently for sale online, but to me are the perfect "woods and fishing" holster for carrying large guns, particularly large heavy guns. I've gotten some deals on the ones I have, but plan to order a couple from Simply Rugged soon.
There have been times when I was fishing with the lightweight Model 329PD carried in the large pancake holster that I forgot I was carrying it. In my parts, that's a good hog gun with the first 2 rounds loaded with shotshells for snakes. I use the Buffalo Bore load created for the 329PD by Buffalo Bore's owner when defending against hogs.
I'd like to have one of Simply Rugged's Field and Stream holsters, which fits the 30 shot Kel-Tec PMR-30 and an extra mag. I also plan to order a j frame concealment pancake, as I really like the one I got with the ammo looops.
Notwithstanding their fan-boy stance on every weapon they review, I do enjoy the holsters they get made by various makers for these reviews. For a time, Rob Leahy over at Simply Rugged holsters was providing holsters, and they looked interesting.
Take the pancake style, for instance, and by the way, Simply Rugged does make other styles. Just check out their website or do as I do and find them on ebay and gun auction sites used.
All of the Simply Rugged holsters I have bought used off of ebay have been of the pancake variety. I've gotten four of them and each is a dandy in it's own special way.
I've got a pancake for the N-Frame 4" that is open bottom and will accommodate a longer barrel gun, like a 6". You need a good strong gun belt, a real gun belt though, when you're carrying that much fire. This holster also works for a 3" Ruger GP100 or a 2.5" or 6" Python. It also fits my 1917 revolvers with 3" and 5" barrels. It will also fit the hard to find a holster for Model 329PD.
I've got a similar pancake for the L frame 3", so it fits several guns well. It fits the Model 13 3" best of all, but will also fit a Model 66 2.5" (which have protruding rear adjustable sights). It also fits the also hard to find a holster for Model 386 sc Mountain Lite with a 3 1/8" barrel. This holster came with detachable belt loops in case you want to use this holster as an IWB holster. Very ingenious. I probably wouldn't use it as such, due to the thickness of the leather, but it's a nice option.
I recently got a J frame pancake holster with five ammo loops on the bottom front of the holster. Although it was made for a 340PD, it runs a bit long and would easily accommodate a 3" barrel j frame as well. The reason for the extra length, I assume, is the loops require some space below the cylinder. Because of the loops and the extra length, it's not a concealment holster, but I plan to have one of these made in a shorter length without the ammo loops. This holster, as opposed to the other two revolver pancake holsters which are plain, is basket stamped and of a very nice design and execution. Another hard to find a holster for gun, the 3" barreled Model 317 .22 L.R. Kit Gun (with fiber optic front sight) fits well in this holster, even though the ammo loops are for .38 Special/.357.
Finally, I have a pancake holster made for the Commander sized 1911, meaning it also perfectly fits the Browning Hi-Power. I've been using it an awful lot lately with the Hi-Power. This holster has a sweat shield that could be a bit larger to cover the hammer of the Hi-Power but it does cover the safety area of the gun. This holster is also a plain finish, and frankly is one of the the best concealing large frame auto belt holsters I've ever owned, and I've used most of the good designs. This holster is made of a bit thinner leather than the three revolver holsters mentioned above. It's still substantial leather and thick, just not as thick as the leather for the larger revolvers.
In conclusion, these are very well made holsters and a screaming deal even when new. They are frequently for sale online, but to me are the perfect "woods and fishing" holster for carrying large guns, particularly large heavy guns. I've gotten some deals on the ones I have, but plan to order a couple from Simply Rugged soon.
There have been times when I was fishing with the lightweight Model 329PD carried in the large pancake holster that I forgot I was carrying it. In my parts, that's a good hog gun with the first 2 rounds loaded with shotshells for snakes. I use the Buffalo Bore load created for the 329PD by Buffalo Bore's owner when defending against hogs.
I'd like to have one of Simply Rugged's Field and Stream holsters, which fits the 30 shot Kel-Tec PMR-30 and an extra mag. I also plan to order a j frame concealment pancake, as I really like the one I got with the ammo looops.
Friday, January 10, 2014
TIME TO BUY A JEEP AND MOVE TO A MOUNTAIN
The title of this post is a comment I've noticed several times in different news media sites and other types of forums or web discussion places. People will leave it in response to a particularly heinous crime or social crime, which is what I call these mass shootings by those with alleged mental problems. I've even heard random people say it in public.
My wife is convinced that it is indeed time to buy several 4wd vehicles AND move to a mountain. And I am as well. We like where we live now, it's so much better than the big city of Houston where I hail from.
I've written before about our desire to head slightly north and west of Texas to some place that I, El Fisho, can fish for trout. Someplace cold enough to support year round trout and fish like smallmouth bass would greatly interest me. What we're looking for is one of those "generally doesn't snow too much" type of places. We've got several good candidates, but are always looking for others. We'd like to buy some land now and start building a retirement home.
Of course, there are always exceptions, hence the 4wd and many, many *cough, expensive, cough* other devices designed to help humans deal with extreme cold and snow and such. And there's the added vehicle expenses, clothing expenses, all those things we don't spend money on now in relatively fair weather (if you consider droughts fair) Texas.
I do appreciate the difference between a Wrangler and a Rubicon, and we've owned a Wrangler before for a long time. The new 4 door Wrangler hardtop ride much smoother than the 2 door version we owned, but the 6 cylinder, five speed one we had did have a whole lot of power.
Although she's a longtime Texan, the wife was born and reared in snow country, and even went to college in Montana, so she's no stranger to extreme cold and snow for months. Add to that extensive travels to Alaska, the Yukon, Calgary and many other frigid areas of the globe and nation and often in the dead of winter and sub-zero temps and she's rendered all sorts of realities to me about life in snow that involve extra work that we don't have to do now.
We're both really open to places still, and trout are not a controlling factor. We do want to live around waterMany people recommend I check out Arkansas, as land prices there tend to the quite reasonable. One co-worker was looking at a large tract of many acres for something like $74k with a cabin and a live, year round spring feeding a creek passing through the lower part of the property.
Indeed, on a family vacation through Missouri and Arkansas I saw many nice creeks and hundreds of live springs coming forth from roadside rocks in Northwest Arkansas.
Of course, trout are found all over this part of Arkansas, as well as many other species of fish. I just want to do some fishing, preferably heavy on fly fishing but with lazy respites for spinning and even spin/bait casting and bait fishing. I want to do a lot of fishing. I've done a bit of fishing in Arkansas, and the fishing there is indeed as impressive as that in Colorado. I would enjoy doing a lot of fishing in either place.
To me, this sounds like paradise, and I guess Mrs. El Fisho and I should consider northwest Arkansas as well as states like Colorado, southern and western Idaho, eastern and northern California, northern Arizona, Washington and Oregon. The only issue I've ever had with hanging out in Arkansas was the humidity is higher than the western states I mentioned, or at least in some of them.
We have no desire to move to Alaska, although it's a great place still teaming with opportunities for the folks willing to work earnestly and work hard. Wyoming has a lot of jobs for both of us yet that's a serious commitment to a serious winter lifestyle. My wife laughs when I speak of this mythical "place where it snows but not too much".
Over the years, we've considered working internationally in some not bad places but mostly very cold places. That's where the jobs were for us. We've also looked at working in other states over the years, including the northeast in Maine, since that's where I could have taken a job, but we decided to stay.
Ultimately, as much as I like Texas government, it will be time to leave. Find a place with not too many folks, a nice place, and a place that has water. Water will be very important as we grow older. That's why all my friends that have bought places in recent years have sought out properties that had "live" springs producing year round.
The thought is that with filtration and cisterns and storage tanks that water can be kept for times of extreme drought and also for living off the grid as much as possible and with a much cleaner source of water than most water systems.
But back to the title. Time to buy a jeep and move to a mountain. It's a sentiment shared by many, and it's become a response to this world we live in with all kinds of really shocking news about the world we live in (and I'm not talking Miley Cyrus stories here).
It's a philosophy I can easily agree with on many levels. It's always been somewhat of a dream really, to live in a mountainous area with trout streams and lakes nearby, not because of urban strife but to fish and live in peace and quiet. Be more at one with nature, but within easy striking distance of diverse shopping and excellent medical care.
Of course, a Jeep or Subaru or other 4wd is usually part of the deal in mountainous areas because mountains = snow at times and iffy roads. For sure, at times the isolationism appeals to me, but most places we'd consider have some sort of community either there or nearby.
Some might choose the desert. Some might choose the beach. Some might choose some other type of terrain. Since I've seen this comment on numerous forums, and I don't think by the same person, I'll assume it's some kind of common sentiment. That a lot of folks feel like buying a Jeep and moving to the mountains.
I guess we all have to have some kind of dream.
My wife is convinced that it is indeed time to buy several 4wd vehicles AND move to a mountain. And I am as well. We like where we live now, it's so much better than the big city of Houston where I hail from.
I've written before about our desire to head slightly north and west of Texas to some place that I, El Fisho, can fish for trout. Someplace cold enough to support year round trout and fish like smallmouth bass would greatly interest me. What we're looking for is one of those "generally doesn't snow too much" type of places. We've got several good candidates, but are always looking for others. We'd like to buy some land now and start building a retirement home.
Of course, there are always exceptions, hence the 4wd and many, many *cough, expensive, cough* other devices designed to help humans deal with extreme cold and snow and such. And there's the added vehicle expenses, clothing expenses, all those things we don't spend money on now in relatively fair weather (if you consider droughts fair) Texas.
I do appreciate the difference between a Wrangler and a Rubicon, and we've owned a Wrangler before for a long time. The new 4 door Wrangler hardtop ride much smoother than the 2 door version we owned, but the 6 cylinder, five speed one we had did have a whole lot of power.
Although she's a longtime Texan, the wife was born and reared in snow country, and even went to college in Montana, so she's no stranger to extreme cold and snow for months. Add to that extensive travels to Alaska, the Yukon, Calgary and many other frigid areas of the globe and nation and often in the dead of winter and sub-zero temps and she's rendered all sorts of realities to me about life in snow that involve extra work that we don't have to do now.
We're both really open to places still, and trout are not a controlling factor. We do want to live around waterMany people recommend I check out Arkansas, as land prices there tend to the quite reasonable. One co-worker was looking at a large tract of many acres for something like $74k with a cabin and a live, year round spring feeding a creek passing through the lower part of the property.
Indeed, on a family vacation through Missouri and Arkansas I saw many nice creeks and hundreds of live springs coming forth from roadside rocks in Northwest Arkansas.
Of course, trout are found all over this part of Arkansas, as well as many other species of fish. I just want to do some fishing, preferably heavy on fly fishing but with lazy respites for spinning and even spin/bait casting and bait fishing. I want to do a lot of fishing. I've done a bit of fishing in Arkansas, and the fishing there is indeed as impressive as that in Colorado. I would enjoy doing a lot of fishing in either place.
To me, this sounds like paradise, and I guess Mrs. El Fisho and I should consider northwest Arkansas as well as states like Colorado, southern and western Idaho, eastern and northern California, northern Arizona, Washington and Oregon. The only issue I've ever had with hanging out in Arkansas was the humidity is higher than the western states I mentioned, or at least in some of them.
We have no desire to move to Alaska, although it's a great place still teaming with opportunities for the folks willing to work earnestly and work hard. Wyoming has a lot of jobs for both of us yet that's a serious commitment to a serious winter lifestyle. My wife laughs when I speak of this mythical "place where it snows but not too much".
Over the years, we've considered working internationally in some not bad places but mostly very cold places. That's where the jobs were for us. We've also looked at working in other states over the years, including the northeast in Maine, since that's where I could have taken a job, but we decided to stay.
Ultimately, as much as I like Texas government, it will be time to leave. Find a place with not too many folks, a nice place, and a place that has water. Water will be very important as we grow older. That's why all my friends that have bought places in recent years have sought out properties that had "live" springs producing year round.
The thought is that with filtration and cisterns and storage tanks that water can be kept for times of extreme drought and also for living off the grid as much as possible and with a much cleaner source of water than most water systems.
But back to the title. Time to buy a jeep and move to a mountain. It's a sentiment shared by many, and it's become a response to this world we live in with all kinds of really shocking news about the world we live in (and I'm not talking Miley Cyrus stories here).
It's a philosophy I can easily agree with on many levels. It's always been somewhat of a dream really, to live in a mountainous area with trout streams and lakes nearby, not because of urban strife but to fish and live in peace and quiet. Be more at one with nature, but within easy striking distance of diverse shopping and excellent medical care.
Of course, a Jeep or Subaru or other 4wd is usually part of the deal in mountainous areas because mountains = snow at times and iffy roads. For sure, at times the isolationism appeals to me, but most places we'd consider have some sort of community either there or nearby.
Some might choose the desert. Some might choose the beach. Some might choose some other type of terrain. Since I've seen this comment on numerous forums, and I don't think by the same person, I'll assume it's some kind of common sentiment. That a lot of folks feel like buying a Jeep and moving to the mountains.
I guess we all have to have some kind of dream.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
SHOT SHOW 2014 HOPES AND DREAMS
So far, my Glock hopes have already been dashed against the rocks as they have been for so many years now. What, back in 2000, when the Model 36 was introduced I think, I thought surely a thinner single stack 9mm won't be far behind.
But here I am more than a decade later, like millions of other people who appreciate the Glock for what it is. They say perfection in their ads. I've never had a problem with any of my Glocks, and I shot competition with a Model 21 for several years shooting thousands of rounds. I enjoy and use other types of guns, but if it had to be one gun only, it'd be a tough call between a .357 or .44 Magnum revolver and a Glock.
But instead you have a .380 Glock.
But that's besides the point. There needs to be some more cool guns out there that average joe's like me can afford. In recent years, I applaud the gun makers for making affordable guns. The new Remington subcompact 9mm will be retailing at UNDER $400, and that's MSRP not street price. That's a good deal.
There's a rumor Colt might start making DA revolvers again. Of course, the Python and Detective Special seem the likely suspects, but they'd do well to consider the Diamondback and Cobra for self defense markets. Also, I'd really like to have a 4" Diamondback in .22 L.R. and maybe a 3"Cobra in .22 L.R. as well but that's not likely to happen. If we're lucky, we'll get some deep blued Pythons and Detective Specials (and PLUUUUZZZZZEEEEE bring back a nice Cobra in blue in .38 Special) and hopefully the shooting public will buy these guns and more revolvers might get introduced.
My son will immediately want the new .22 German submachine gun that I saw on one page, I believe it's an MP44 copy but I could be wrong. Extra long barrel to be legal so it looks a bit out of place even with the fake silencer treatment.
There is a kinda cool .22 magnum 4 barrel derringer gun coming out, and Taurus has a 1"!!! snubnose made of some kind(s) of light metal and a PLASTIC SIDE PLATE called "THE VIEW" weighing in a 8.6 oz unloaded. Thank's but I'll stick to my 340pd at basically 13 ounces loaded, a few scant ounces more.
I wish the execs at Smith and Wesson and Colt (and let Taurus in as well) would meet with and more importantly, listen to Roy Huntington, ex-cop and Editor of American Handgunner and noted handgun writer and authority.
Roy designs or has done many guns that are featured in various magazine articles. Food for thought, some of them would sell well and make sense. Roy could tell you how to chop a 1917, round the butt and do a few other mods. Make it with the tapered barrel, parkerized with Hogues and even momma can shoot it with a home invasion. I suspect Roy could design several guns me and others might buy.
I'd like to see Smith make a 3" barreled version of the 1917 Classic they recently were or still are selling with the 5" barrel. It's such a great defensive handgun with a 3" barrel and quite concealable with the fixed rear sight in a Bianchi Model 6 for a N frame or in the Galco Combat Master for the 3" N frame. But it would be nice to see make a working man's home defense gun, with options for guys like me who would want it in blue or nickel for an upcharge.
Smith needs a working man's 3" all steel K and N frame self defense gun. Bring back the Model 13 and 65, both in 3". You're already making a Model 10 tribute model, so just make it a 13. A 3" Model 27 in that Deep Blue that Smith is famous for in days of yore. I would like to see a Model 58 4" chambered in .44 magnum, or simply give the fixed sight treatment to a Model 29 or 629. For a woods gun, which could end up being dropped if careless, fixed sights are far less likely to be damaged. Or so my theory goes.
I'd like to see a modern bolt action, reasonably priced, for the excellent 7.39 x 54r caliber. Maybe in a kit with an appropriate scope. Savage, Mossberg, Winchester, Weatherby and Remington could all be making a gun like this to shoot this excellent and cheaper round in something other than a Mosin or one of the AK action models.
I'd also like to see even a single shot H&R rifle for the 5.7 x 28 round, like the .300 whisper gun, but a bolt action would be cooler, better yet if it was cheap.
I wish Savage would bring back the 24 Camper Companion. 20" barrels with a 20 guage with more rifle options this time of .22, .357, .30-30 and 44 magnum. Endeavor to make it lightweight. If they really wanted to get daring, add 7.62 x 39.
I wish CZ would introduce the M6 Scout pistol shown at the 2004 Shot Show. Have it chamber .45 Colt and .410 and .22. Or that Springfield Armory would, along with the rifle version, with the added .45 Colt capability.
But here I am more than a decade later, like millions of other people who appreciate the Glock for what it is. They say perfection in their ads. I've never had a problem with any of my Glocks, and I shot competition with a Model 21 for several years shooting thousands of rounds. I enjoy and use other types of guns, but if it had to be one gun only, it'd be a tough call between a .357 or .44 Magnum revolver and a Glock.
But instead you have a .380 Glock.
But that's besides the point. There needs to be some more cool guns out there that average joe's like me can afford. In recent years, I applaud the gun makers for making affordable guns. The new Remington subcompact 9mm will be retailing at UNDER $400, and that's MSRP not street price. That's a good deal.
There's a rumor Colt might start making DA revolvers again. Of course, the Python and Detective Special seem the likely suspects, but they'd do well to consider the Diamondback and Cobra for self defense markets. Also, I'd really like to have a 4" Diamondback in .22 L.R. and maybe a 3"Cobra in .22 L.R. as well but that's not likely to happen. If we're lucky, we'll get some deep blued Pythons and Detective Specials (and PLUUUUZZZZZEEEEE bring back a nice Cobra in blue in .38 Special) and hopefully the shooting public will buy these guns and more revolvers might get introduced.
My son will immediately want the new .22 German submachine gun that I saw on one page, I believe it's an MP44 copy but I could be wrong. Extra long barrel to be legal so it looks a bit out of place even with the fake silencer treatment.
There is a kinda cool .22 magnum 4 barrel derringer gun coming out, and Taurus has a 1"!!! snubnose made of some kind(s) of light metal and a PLASTIC SIDE PLATE called "THE VIEW" weighing in a 8.6 oz unloaded. Thank's but I'll stick to my 340pd at basically 13 ounces loaded, a few scant ounces more.
I wish the execs at Smith and Wesson and Colt (and let Taurus in as well) would meet with and more importantly, listen to Roy Huntington, ex-cop and Editor of American Handgunner and noted handgun writer and authority.
Roy designs or has done many guns that are featured in various magazine articles. Food for thought, some of them would sell well and make sense. Roy could tell you how to chop a 1917, round the butt and do a few other mods. Make it with the tapered barrel, parkerized with Hogues and even momma can shoot it with a home invasion. I suspect Roy could design several guns me and others might buy.
I'd like to see Smith make a 3" barreled version of the 1917 Classic they recently were or still are selling with the 5" barrel. It's such a great defensive handgun with a 3" barrel and quite concealable with the fixed rear sight in a Bianchi Model 6 for a N frame or in the Galco Combat Master for the 3" N frame. But it would be nice to see make a working man's home defense gun, with options for guys like me who would want it in blue or nickel for an upcharge.
Smith needs a working man's 3" all steel K and N frame self defense gun. Bring back the Model 13 and 65, both in 3". You're already making a Model 10 tribute model, so just make it a 13. A 3" Model 27 in that Deep Blue that Smith is famous for in days of yore. I would like to see a Model 58 4" chambered in .44 magnum, or simply give the fixed sight treatment to a Model 29 or 629. For a woods gun, which could end up being dropped if careless, fixed sights are far less likely to be damaged. Or so my theory goes.
I'd like to see a modern bolt action, reasonably priced, for the excellent 7.39 x 54r caliber. Maybe in a kit with an appropriate scope. Savage, Mossberg, Winchester, Weatherby and Remington could all be making a gun like this to shoot this excellent and cheaper round in something other than a Mosin or one of the AK action models.
I'd also like to see even a single shot H&R rifle for the 5.7 x 28 round, like the .300 whisper gun, but a bolt action would be cooler, better yet if it was cheap.
I wish Savage would bring back the 24 Camper Companion. 20" barrels with a 20 guage with more rifle options this time of .22, .357, .30-30 and 44 magnum. Endeavor to make it lightweight. If they really wanted to get daring, add 7.62 x 39.
I wish CZ would introduce the M6 Scout pistol shown at the 2004 Shot Show. Have it chamber .45 Colt and .410 and .22. Or that Springfield Armory would, along with the rifle version, with the added .45 Colt capability.
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