I grew up with Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Hopalong Cassidy, The Cisco Kid and, of course, the Lone Ranger. (Although for years I called him the Long Ranger, 'cause that's what it sounded like over the radio.) See the article on "Guns" under Memoirs.
I offer here some links to other sites you might find of interest if you are interested in firearms or firearms training. The first batch of links are all from Frontsight Training Institute outside of Las Vegas.
NOTE! As of this writing (10/4/2022) Frontsight Training Institute as gone into reorg. bankruptcy. Future uncertain but the founder hopes to hold things together. Personally, I think Frontsight is done, but if not it will still never be the same. As my son, Tim, said when he heard, "Well, it was good while it lasted." That about sums it up.
They have been operating since 1996 and have doubled Front Sight in some aspect each year for 17 years straight and are on track to double again in the next twelve months. Their business assets are appraised at over 50 million dollars.
In their entire history they have never canceled a scheduled course and they post their entire schedule for the next year in October of each year. I have taken the Four-Day Defensive Handgun course and my report on that is printed below. I can confirm that they have one of the best marketing programs that I have ever seen! Definately worth checking out.
Front Sight Firearms Training Institute (I recommend that you sign up for their their email series. It is very informative as well as promotional and well worth the reads.)
Ignatius Piazza - founder of Front Sight
Ignatius Piazza Blog
Front Sight - in Guns & Ammo
Front Sight - in Sierra Times
Ignatius Piazza - on World Net Daily
Ignatius Piazza - in San Francisco Chronicle
Ignatius Piazza - in Forbes Magazine
Front Sight - in US News & World Report
Ignatius Piazza - in Washington Post
Ignatius Piazza - in Handvapen Guiden
Ignatius Piazza - in Small Arms Review
Ignatius Piazza - in Fort Worth Star Telegram
Front Sight - on BBC News
Front Sight - in Santa Cruz Sentinel
Ignatius Piazza - in Las Vegas Life
Ignatius Piazza - in Gun World
Front Sight - in The Mail on Sunday Review
Front Sight - in el Pais Seminal
Front Sight - in London Times
My Experience at Front Sight
Front Sight - in Pajaronian Register
Ignatius Piazza - in Las Vegas Mercury
Front Sight - in Cybercast News Service
Front Sight - in Gun Web
Front Sight - in Black Belt Magazine
Ignatius Piazza - on Reform America
Front Sight - on CNN
Front Sight - in Icon Magazine
Front Sight - in Los Angeles Times
Front Sight - in New York Times
Ignatius Piazza - in El Mercurio
Front Sight - in Financial Times
Ignatius Piazza - in National Enquirer
Front Sight - on USA Today
Ignatius Piazza - in Las Vegas Sun
Ignatius Piazza - in Las Vegas Review
Ignatius Piazza - in Chicago Tribune
Our Front Sight Experience.
Friday, November 18, 2011.
This is our last day to get everything into Front Sight for the Four-Day Defensive Handgun course. Now, ‘everything’ means registering for the course and sending a signed character reference from someone who has known you for five years or more.
You would think that with only two items, that would be a piece of cake. And so would I. But I will be taking the course with my two adult sons and making sure that all the details are covered for all three of us is a bit of a trick. Both are married and finding a time when both were available and willing to come was wonderful. I invited my daughter as well, but her family schedule precluded a trip now. Maybe next Fall.
Monday, November 28, 2011
I was just finishing the sentence above when the phone rang. Seems there was a bit of problem getting the signed character references into Frontsight. Turns out that email will work but fax is better. So we chased down a fax machine at Kinkos and sent it on its way.
The intervening nine days have been spent getting our equipment ready and firming up our reservations: airlines, car rental, and motel in Pahrump (its real name), Nevada. Front Sight rents everything you need for $130 plus bullets. But if we do that we learn on their equipment and when we come home we have to adjust to what we will really be shooting of our own. Plus, we will be shooting almost 600 rounds of ammo (probably more than we will be shooting at home in the next five years!) which is a good break-in for our own guns. By the end of the course we will have a pretty good idea about how dependable they are.
All that is left to find in this last week is a double magazine holder (for ammunition, not reading) for reloads and a lockable travel case for the airline. We are missing one pair of shooting glasses that should be around here somewhere. I’ll chase those down tomorrow. The cartridges are ordered and should be in by Wednesday. Tim is coming down 75 miles to Rob’s rural home where we have a place to shoot. I am going 30 miles up to Rob’s house and we are meeting sometime on Wednesday to be sure our guns are functioning and ready to go.
After that I can pack it all up and we’re ready for our Sunday evening flight.
I have been interested in guns since I used to listen to Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger on the radio (yes, that was because we did not have a TV). From them I learned that a gun in the hand of a good guy, could be a powerful force for good. I grew up and joined the Auxiliary Police in Massachusetts where I learned the real limits and responsibilities of a gun in the hand of the good guys.
I have dreamed for twenty years or more about taking a real and serious handgun course, but there was never enough time or money. Now, finally, I am going to take my course and I get the joy of taking it with my two sons.
Chasing down all the details has been confusing at times but our every contact with Front Sight has been pleasant and helpful. We never felt like we were a bother and they patiently explained what was needed each time. So far, so good, as they say.
Sunday, December 4, 2011, 6:15 pm, Pacific Time
We are in the air somewhere over the western United States. Front Sight says that we need 600 rounds of ammunition. When you have three people you need 1800 rounds. The airlines only allow eleven pounds of cartridges per checked bag. They obviously do not realize the cartridges contain lead (as in very heavy) bullets. This resulted in an interesting scenario.
As I packed, I printed out the Air Tran and Southwest requirements for guns and ammunition. Never was any weight limit mentioned. The TSA site also made no mention of any limit. I even printed out the regulations that were dated August 2011. I thought I was pretty safe. I divided my stash between three smaller suitcases and weighed them. With just the guns and the ammo, it was about 25-40 pounds per bag. My resources for weight were our bathroom scale and our food scale, but I felt pretty good.
The day before we were to leave, I checked some blogs and discovered a mention of an eleven pound limit on ammo from a guy flying American. First I heard of that one.
I wondered about that, so I rechecked Air Tran. My path from their web site led me to a different page on their web site than I had visited before. It showed a limit of 11 pounds. It did not mention if that was per gun, per bag, or per passenger, but it did not look good.
Time to repack. I retrieved a couple of larger suitcases and put the smaller, packed ones into the larger. A heavy large case did not seem as out of line as the same weight larger bag. There is a limit of 50 pounds either way.
The gun case went into a larger bag and I was ready.
Robert showed up with his bag to check. We consolidated his stuff into one of the mostly empty ammo bags and the bath scale read 57 pounds. Oops. That was at noon today and I needed to be off to a church service in Milwaukee. Here’s where adult children are wonderful. I left all the bags with Rob, told him to solve the problem, and headed out.
According to plan they picked me up at church and we were off to the airport. The moment of truth was moments away.
Business was slow at the ticket counter and we walked right up. We declared the guns, showed the case and locks, and referenced the fact that two other cases also had ammo and breezed right through. Total weights were no problem. A short walk to the TSA baggage area and things came to a screeching halt.
The x-ray machine flagged the cases with the ammo and they needed to be opened for a visual inspection. The amount of ammo was a concern and they asked if I knew how much the ammo weighed. I acknowledged that I was not certain, so they pulled it out of just one case and put just the ammo boxes on their scale. Twenty-five pounds. Well over twice the limit!
By now we had attracted the attention of an Air Tran supervisor who assured us all that the limit was eleven pounds. He clarified that that is a per bag limit. Whew, dodged that bullet (no pun intended). A per person or per gun limit would have been really not good. While the nice lady from the ticket desk went out back to find Rob’s bag and bring it back, the rest of the ammo was weighed and how much equaled 11 pounds was determined.
Everyone was quite nice, if insistent on the limit per bag. Fortunately we had enough bags to cover the poundage which turned out to be about 65 pounds, ammo only. But we were on our way.
Another hour from now and we should know if everything arrived safely but at least a big question mark has been erased. We are in the air and all is well.
We do have a couple of pieces still missing. One is the third clip for Rob’s gun. Since we swapped out his gun (9mm) for a larger caliber (.40 S&W) we had to get a third magazine. It was ordered, but never showed up. (Later note, as it turned out I had an extra, so problem solved. I still don’t remember why I had purchased an extra.)
Tim mentioned something else we will need but don’t have. I’ll ask him later. Right now the two of them are watching a movie (Cowboys vs. Aliens) on Tim’s tablet computer. He loaded several movies on the computer for the trip. He has an ear phone adapter that will handle five sets. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of my ear phones with me so I was odd man out. That is probably just as well since it has given me time to bring these notes up to date.
On the drive to the airport I remarked to the guys that this is either going to be the greatest week ever, or not. They agreed that that pretty much covered it.
Monday, December 5, 2011, 10:20 pm.
Well, our first day at Front Sight is in the history books. It was a day of mixed reviews. We arrived at 6:40 and the guys at the front gate looked like commandos. All dressed in black and bundled up for the cold. This latter was no surprised as the car thermometer said it was 31 degrees Fahrenheit when we left the hotel and by the time we got to the Front Sight location it had dropped to 28! If people tell you that it is all right because it is a dry heat, believe them. If they say the same thing about cold, don’t.
They said to dress in layers only I was about 5 layers short of what was needed and it never warmed up enough to be really comfortable. Actually, it was not too bad when the wind died down and you were standing in the sun. High was about 48 but there was a 10-15 mph wind blowing most of the day. Tomorrow is supposed to have similar temps, but much less wind. Wednesday and Thursday are supposed to be about five degrees warmer each day. So the future looks promising from the weather perspective.
The gate-keepers were very cordial and helpful in a way that completely overcame any anxiety about their appearance. Front Sight does pride itself in not having a boot-camp mentality and that cordial atmosphere manifested itself in various ways all day.
We went first to an opening session. This included introduction, an overview of the day and paperwork in which we agreed that we would not blame Front Sight should things go terribly wrong.
Then we did an equipment check to be sure that it was all safe to use and would serve its purpose in the training. Tim’s holster was not satisfactory and he replaced it with a rental. All the rest of our equipment was fine. Although as the day wore on, it became obvious that my nice new leather holster needed some work. It just does not want to let go of the gun.
They have a new “ammo bunker” which sells ammo at bulk prices. As it turns out, their on site prices were actually less than I paid in Wisconsin, not to mention the cost and aggravation of getting it here. I’m trying hard not the think about that.
Everything started out slow. Tim thought that it was all going to be boring since we did not fire our guns until almost noon. We made up for it by doing about 100 rounds in the afternoon and he is starting to feel better about the program. Realistically, we have not a few people who are doing this for the first time and they were brought along about as fast as it could be done.
There are enough instructors to provide personal attention as needed and we are paired up so that we can ‘coach’ each other during the drills. I am having some difficulty changing gears from my old revolver training to the new automatic. I put my finger on the trigger too soon, and I keep forgetting to put the safety on. I asked if I could just ignore the safety since other guns of the same style don’t even have one you have to put on and off.
“Sorry, but if the safety is there, we have to train you to use it.” I’m adjusting.
We finished with a bang, but it had nothing to do with guns. We discovered that the rental car picked up a nail and had a flat tire. While we were putting on the spare Pastor Jeff called to say that they really missed me at the new members’ class. Some questions came up in which my expertise would have come in handy. Then Jan called with the news that the plumbing is backing up into the basement again. The city says that their line is fine (this time), so it looks like a job for Roto-Rooter. Since it is draining, if slowly, it will keep until I get home on Friday.
The day ended with a lecture on the implications of pulling the trigger. It was very thought provoking and the topic will be pursued at some length tomorrow again. Essentially, you need to decide if and when to pull the trigger long before you may have the need. Even just one ‘bang’ will change your life forever. We discussed this over dinner.
I called Dollar car rental and got permission to fix the tire and be reimbursed. So, tomorrow starts early with a trip to Wall Mart’s auto shop. We were supposed to practice tonight but food shopping and gun cleaning pretty well killed all our time. We’ll just see what tomorrow brings.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011, 10:20 pm
Today was an improvement over yesterday in several areas. First, the weather was more tolerable due to reduced wind. We were only cold a couple of times as the shade moved across our shooting range. Tim and Rob seem to like the first row when we are seated and listening to lectures. Really, ‘lectures’ is too strong a term for a five to fifteen minute explanation and demonstration of a principle that is given as an introduction to our next practice session.
The problem with the first row is that it is in the shade most of the day and when you’re out of the sun it feels much cooler. I took a chair and moved it from the first row to the side where the sun could warm my back. The ‘rows’ are just individual chairs set up, so it is easy to just grab a chair and put it wherever you’d like.
The atmosphere created by the instructors is very relaxed but they are real sticklers for safety issues. The presentations incorporate a measure of humor and the instructors really seem to be enjoying themselves. They also are quick to pick up on problems that the students may be having and are proactive in working with any one that may need special attention.
I have been fighting for the past two days with my new leather holster. The gun does not quite fit and that was noticed and suggestions made to improve my situation. I have noticed that they are quite attentive as we go through our drills and take the time for individual concerns.
We had to pair up with a different person today and Rob grabbed Tim and I was odd man out. There was a gentleman standing alone at the line so I hooked up with him. He was Bryce from Idaho and here with at least one friend from the ‘office’. This is his second time with this course and he really has it down pretty well.
Bryce impressed me as middle or even upper management. He is well spoken and is exactly the kind of person that Front Sight is targeting. Front Sight’s goal is to “change the image of gun ownership in our lifetime.” This means associating gun owners as regular, or even sophisticated, people rather than as ignorant red-necks who are secret members of some militia.
No one I’ve seen so far matches the stereotypical image of a gun-toting, second amendment radical.
Wall Mart fixed our tire for $10 so I don’t have to limit my speed to under 50 mph. That would not be so bad except for the fact that in the morning confusion we managed to get everything in the car but the lunch fixin’s.
Rob suggested that I run back to the first drive through restaurant I come to as I entered Pahrump. Only problem was that I could only drive 50 mph. (Actually, I cheated and pegged the cruise at 59 mph. That’s close enough, isn’t it?)
Then the first food source I came to was our Hotel! So I just ran up to the room and got the peanut butter and strawberry jam and headed back just in time for the lecture on criminal and civil liability that you incur if you actually have to shoot your gun. Again, the lecture gave us much to think about. Tim took the goodies and made us each a sandwich, so lunch worked out. (There are lunch and snack options on site, we just did not plan ahead.)
The training so far has shown me that I have some bad habits that I need to remove if I am to get any good with the Ruger SR 9 semi-auto hand-gun. I decided to come into the 21st century and do the training on an auto loader rather than my revolver. Previous auxiliary police training (circa 1980) in Massachusetts was all with a Ruger Security Six, thirty-eight caliber revolver. I got pretty good with that but times have changed and the police are all equipped with high capacity automatics these days.
I have two days to get the hang of the new way of doing things.
Well, it is 11 pm and I’m shot (no pun intended), so I am going to bed. More tomorrow.
Thursday, December 08, 2011, 8 pm Pacific Time, 10 pm Milwaukee Time.
I have listed the two times because we are on the plane back to Milwaukee. I thought we might get in at 2 am Milwaukee time but we have a tailwind and the flight will be faster than flying west.
So it is looking like a 12:30 am arrival then an hour and 30 minute drive to Madison. The return flight schedule on any airline I could afford was impossible. The best I could do was a seven o’clock flight. The positive: It is a direct flight. The negative: Our Front Sight program did not end until 5 pm, and it was an hour’s drive back to the car rental place.
The folks at Front Sight were more than helpful. They put us in the first round of the ‘final exam’ and got our scores and certificates to us in time for us to head out at 4:30.
Since we are in the air, it is obvious that we made it. Ah, so nice a conclusion for our final adventure.
Before we get to that I need to bring you up to date on our final two days. The basics were pretty much covered in days one and two. They were practiced in detail along with skills that relate to concealed carry. By the end of day three we were pretty well exhausted.
It is obvious that they have a body of material they want to cover for maximum training and they kept everything moving. There was no time to get bored, as instruction and practice followed each other at constant pace. We had people from the Two-Day Defensive Handgun class mixed in with our Four-Day Defensive Handgun class. That appeared to be unusual and I got the impression that the mixing was due to overflow. We covered the same material until noon on the second day. Then the two day class went off to their grand finale and we continued with more basics.
Day three started the sequences that related directly to concealed carry and how to defend against a home invader. Emotionally, the low point was the end of day three. All three of us were exhausted and it was off to an early bed time. (In retrospect we should have taken an earlier flight out, so we could start the week feeling rested and relaxed instead of rushed and tense.)
Our last day included honing our skills and preparing for the skills test. That test rated us on our ability to hit the target under timed pressure and our ability to clear malfunctions that might occur to the weapon. (Front Sight does not use euphemisms for firearms. The gun is a weapon and a dangerous one at that. They are highly sensitive to safety and gently but firmly insist on safe procedures. Anything that hints at a violation is met with an immediate halt and a correction. We had a good group and a few reminders along the way were all that were necessary.)
There was a shoot off that was a single elimination to determine class champion. The pairings were chosen by chance from cards with each person’s name. In the first round I beat my opponent with just three shots on three targets. I was impressed even if no one else was. Rob came in late and got a bye in the first round. In the second round Rob drew the man who eventually won it all.
The second round I drew Timothy. We agreed that at least one Concklin would be in the third round! I got a slow start and thought Tim would take me, but he insisted on using four shots to get the last target and I beat him on time. The third round I drew a bye and was in the final against the guy who bested Rob. Unlike myself, he actually earned his place in the final and it showed. We both finished but he beat me significantly to the last target.
The morning ended with a series of ‘grudge matches’ where any two could shoot a single match with another. So Rob and I went up against each other. He won when I killed the hostage on the first target. Oops.
Our final afternoon was spent prepping for the skills test. There were three possible certificates you would win (from high to low): Distinguished, Graduate, and Achievement. When the dust cleared, Rob and I had our Achievement certificates and Tim had a Graduate Certificate.
We left Front Sight according to schedule and made the airport in good time. We checked our luggage with minimal effort and headed through the security gate with about 45 minutes to spare. It helped that our plane was delayed about 15 minutes. Then our good fortune came to a screeching halt.
In the haste to get everything packed, I had put four sodas in our luggage. Unfortunately, the case I put it in was the one designated to be carried on board. So of course it got flagged in the screening. The worst of it was that two of the magazines for my pistol were also put in that bag. The diet Dr. Peppers got trashed. No problem. But I was loathe to lose the magazines since they run over thirty dollars each and these are broken in. Fortunately, the supervisor who came over was an ex-police officer who is into shooting and was sympathetic to my plight. He sent me back to check the offending bag and I was on my way. Almost.
Naturally I had to go through the screening all over again after checking the bag. About two minutes out of the screening, my name comes over the page. Please return to the TSA screening area. Augh-oh. I hustled back and found that I had not picked up my wallet after screening. After I had described some items in my own wallet, it was returned with a smile. I must admit that all the TSA folks encountered on this trip have been very pleasant and helpful.
Now, however, my time was down to about 20 minutes and I soon realized that gate C1 was not just around the corner as I had thought. It was over in an adjacent terminal! I ran.
They were boarding group A as I arrived and joined Rob and Tim in group B. The plane is about half full and life is good. I was going to try and nap a bit but I worked on this instead. Even though it will be two a.m. when we finally get home, I realized that for our bodies on pacific time, it will only be a little after midnight.
Consensus seems to be that the week’s investment was worth the effort and we will certainly have things to relate at the family parties. I’ll try and summarize tomorrow.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011, 8:05 am.
They say, “Tomorrow never comes.” And sure enough, tomorrow never came. Life tends to intrude on avocations and it has been two weeks since we returned from Front Sight. A couple of post-Front Sight emails are printed below to give you an idea of the residuals. Also summarized below are the drills that were part of the ‘final exam.’
While we were loading the car and waiting for the final clearance to leave, Tim went back and found out our specific scores and where we need to improve. Tim scored higher than either Rob or Richard but it was not in the accuracy or speed. Most of his gains came in the gun jam clearing drills that are 50% of the test. You are in major trouble if your gun malfunctions when you need it the most. So, we were trained on how to diagnose and clear the most likely scenarios.
Our group did not have any revolver shooters. It was obvious that they were prepared to cover revolvers but that was not necessary, so that material was passed over. It was probably a good decision to spend the extra time on the weapons that the whole group was using. But it would have been interesting to hear what they had to say to the revolver crowd, since that was all my training 30 years ago.
In answer to the question of what gun would be suitable for pocket carry, they did recommend a revolver: One with no exposed hammer to catch on the clothing. It can be fired from the pocket through the coat, if necessary, since it has no slide that needs to cycle to do multiple shots.
Tim had taken time to review and “air-practice” the drills and when the test came he could run right through them.
Each night I worked a bit on the holster and by the end I had it working very well with just the right retention. My new habits are kicking in and I am feeling more and more comfortable doing things the way we were taught.
For me nothing is ever as good in reality as in anticipation, but our Front Sight experience did come close. It was an excellent experience with training that will stand me and my two sons in good stead.
With some good special offers from Front Sight, I was able to underwrite most of the trip for all three of us. It was more than worth it and I am please that I was able to do it. It was a good time together and the bonus is that I am confident that whatever decision they may make with firearms in the future, they have the training necessary to exercise good judgment.
When I compare the cost of the Front Sight courses with some of the courses I took in college, the college course was more expensive and left me with virtually no useful information! By that standard Front Sight looks like a great investment!
I have two questions to evaluate any experience. First, knowing what I know now, would I still have done it this first time? Secondly, if I have a chance would I like to do it again? In retrospect, Front Sight merits a “Yes!” to both questions.
Some post-Front Sight emails
December 17, 2011
Tim to Richard. My response paragraphs are indented. This exchange was prompted by an article about a guy who was arrested in New York while traveling with his gun. And he actually had a concealed carry permit from the State of California (one of the toughest to get)!
Tim: I think the problem with that guy at the NY airport was he packed his ammo in the same case as the gun. Which is a big no-no. Equals a loaded weapon in NY if I read the article right.
Richard: I read it the same way. TSA has compassion on the guy who only needs to check one bag, NY State does not. Also, if you get too comfortable with your gun, you can get into trouble by assuming everything is fine because it is just like you did it before.
T: Isn't a newer 1911 appealing to you? Or the smith and wesson M&P in 45. Or a Remington 700 bolt-action 30-06 with a walnut stock! heeheehee Just a suggestion. Should I have said AR-15 for when the zombie breakout occurs? Probably just as likely as a Chinese invasion.
R: The 1911 has too many controls to master if you want to draw and fire. You have it keep it cocked and the safety on. The forty-five is significantly more expensive to shoot, kicks harder, etc. I'd rather count on shot placement than a larger bullet. I've got all the rifles I'm interested in unless you're giving one away.
Your sister is talking about a trip next Fall and going with her husband and probably taking extra time to take in the sights around Vegas. We'll have to see what she wants to shoot when the time comes.
I have been trying to dry practice a few minutes a day.
T: Oh, at Christmas time we'll have to install the new spring kit I bought for the SD9. It's supposed to reduce trigger weight from 8 pounds to right around 5 pounds which would be nicer.
R: I put a spring kit into my Ruger police revolver after I got it. Somewhere the original springs are lying around. I'm happy to help but I doubt that you need me. I suspect that you can probably do the spring replacement with no problems at all. I have not had time to do the clean-and-oil on my firing pin like Rob did. I will be interested to see if it smoothes up as nicely as his.
T: I'm waiting to hear back from my guy about a price on a shooting timer. They aren't very cheap I have to say.
R: Yeah, they don't give those things away. Get his price and the model number and we'll see what the internet or even Ammo Box has. I've discovered that these 'our cost' offers often reflect the cost to businesses and you can find the same thing at Wall Mart for about 1/3 less. But we'll see. Any further discount if you buy more than one? Three would be nice. Maybe Santa will come through.
Dad
Tim to Rob and Richard, Dec. 18, 2011
I was surfing around and found <http://www.rugerforum.com> which has a pretty cool list of both how-to videos and things you can buy/do to your gun. It's the top two threads all for the SR9 (Richard’s) and SR40 (Rob’s) under the semi-auto pistol category.
And I wanted to let you know that I have the magazine holder that was modified with the washers and I have Dad's earmuffs.
I've been practicing every day dry firing. I went out to the range today and was pretty good at the ragged-hole drill. When I switched to speed--pulling out of the holster and firing quickly I was all over the place. Looks like I'll have to start practicing that. Was the ragged hole drill (the one where you aimed at the square) from the 5 meter line?
Now that I've gotten used to my gun, I'm even more interested in trying out the others to see how they compare.
Dad, remember to bring your trigger-pull tester when you come up for Christmas.
Response:
Tim,
The magazine holder is for anyone it fits. I did not care for the way it was binding on the Ruger mags, so if you can use it, it is yours. Also, you can hang on to the muffs. If anyone needs muffs we may borrow them, but consider them as your own.
Rob, same with you.
If you do upgrade on any of this stuff, I would like the old stuff back. You never know but it might be perfect for my next gun (although I have no plans . . .).
Tim, Call me the night before we come up for Christmas and remind me on the trigger pull thing. Also, the ragged-hole drill was at five meters. I have that target and wrote it down. Mine is one ragged hole, and then a flyer about an inch to the left.
Safe Handling Exercises
Set up = round chambered, partial mag
1. Tactical Reload – from ‘ready’ position
Action = Check for clip in pouch, gun mag
to pocket, insert new mag.
2. Emergency Reload – weapon empty
Set up = empty weapon, slide locked back
Action = Step and look, hand on new mag,
Eject mag to ground, insert new mag,
Release (rack) slide.
3. Malfunction, type one – click but no bang.
Set up = empty chamber, loaded clip.
Action = tap to reseat mag, tip ejection port
toward ground, rack slide to reload
chamber.
4. Malfunction, type two – dead trigger, brass high.
Set up = bullet sticking out sideways from
closed slide.
Action = step and look, see brass high,
Tap, tip, rack.
5. Malfunction, type three – dead trigger, brass low
(the mother of all malfunctions, heh, heh)
Set up = loaded mag, rack and lock back
Insert round in chamber, gradually
And gently, release slide, round will strip from mag and jam against round in chamber.
Action = step, look, see brass low, check for
mag in pouch, lock slide open, rip
mag to ground,
Rack empty weapon three times,
Insert clip, rack
Aiming exercise
Set up = Dry weapon, rack slide, check
chamber
Action = On target, pull trigger, trap trigger
back, check aim, allow trigger to
reset. Repeat.
Live Fire Exercises
1. Ragged hole.
Set up = target is 1¼ inch black square
Distance = five meters (sixteen feet)
Goal = Five shots to target, holes
connected
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