Category Archives: Handguns

A tactifool gets butt hurt on Gunbroker.com

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GLOCK 23/19 (1 GUN PACKAGE) RTF2 WOW! : Semi Auto Pistols at GunBroker.com.

Tacticfool's Custom Glock

This one has been discussed and commented on quite a bit online.  We’re not going to let it slide either.  What’s funny is, apparently the owner has spent way too much time using it as a butt plug rather than an actual handgun. I say this because he has amended his original summary on this gun with apparent retorts to comments he has seen online. In other words, he’s butt hurt. But let’s quickly run down what’s wrong with this “Tactifool’s” Glock and offer a few reasons he’s deserving of all the flak he’s catching.

The first thing that jumps out at shooters is the lack of a trigger guard. This is not only plainly dangerous with a Glock (or any other handgun) but, if you’re going to make a Fitz Special, do it right and leave the bottom of the trigger guard in place so your hand has a positive index/stop point on the grip rather than running into the back of the trigger.  But keep in mind that now, we’ve got nothing protecting the trigger or other wise providing retention point for a holster!

Now before we leave the gun alone, have I mentioned there are NO SIGHTS on this gun? Zip, zero, nada. Not even “Homeboy Sites.” So I guess this guy is a student of the instinctive/intuitive/telekenetic school of shooting in which sights are unnecessary. Or may be it’s the Ray Charles/Stevie Wonder school of shooting in which Braille is used for finding one’s target.

Last and perhaps least, there’s the “color matching” of the magazines.  If you’re going to bother, shouldn’t you do such that magazines match when the magazine is seated rather than the top of the magazine that no one can see even when it’s in a pouch? I mean, really?

Folks, I’m not above recommended mods for your gun. But if you’re going to do mods, make sure you’ve really thought them through and when in doubt, talk to your gunsmith or a qualified, professional gunman.  Serious shooters have probably already done what you’re considering and can offer their opinion on what the find works or doesn’t work. Just a thought.

There’s nothing “collectible” about this gun at this point. When I was apprenticing with a gunsmith, I was told always “cut the least expensive part.” Tactifool has cut/ruined the frame which as far as the ATF is concerned, is the gun.  So if you want to “fix” this screw up, you basically have to buy a new gun. #FAIL!

Recent Commentary on Negligent Discharges from John Farnam

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NDs!

At a recent Course, one of my students had an ND in his hotel room. It
was a single shot from a pistol that hit the floor (ground-floor room). No
personal injury and only slight property damage, which my student graciously
took care of promptly. The bullet (9mm hardball) demolished itself on the
concrete floor.

The is the second such incident involving my students that I am aware of.
The first, also involving no injury and only minor property damage, took
place several years ago.

We’ve all heard about these unhappy episodes. The cause is invariably the
confluence of:

(1) Exhaustion
(2) Distraction
(3) Poor Procedure

My student returned to his room after a long and exhausting day of
training. After a tense and unhappy phone conversation with his wife, he started
to unload one of his pistols. Midway through to process, he turned on the
TV. The ND occurred a second later!

There is often little we can do about physical and mental exhaustion, but
we can observe these criterion:

(1) Avoid unnecessary gun-handling. When there is no legitimate reason to
handle guns, don’t! Many NDs happen during unnecessary, purposeless
unloading, which necessitates redundant re-loading later on. Both installments
can usually be eliminated altogether! When a gun can safely remain loaded
in a hotel room, leave it in that condition and handle it only as necessary
to get it where you want it for the balance of the evening.

(2) When you must unload/load/perform a chamber-check in a hotel room:

(a) Before you start, specifically locate and positively identify a
relatively safe direction in which to point your gun while you’re handling it
(b) Turn off the TV/radio
(c) Get off the phone
(d) Stop all conversations
(e) Get sufficient light on the task at hand
(f) Devote complete attention to what you’re doing. Don’t allow yourself
to become distracted.
(g) Complete the task, start to finish, without interruption/intermission.
When you are unavoidably interrupted, go back and start the process over,
from the beginning. Don’t try to “pick it up where you left-off!”

Keep in mind that the time you are most likely to experience an ND is
within two seconds of your last ND! NDs tend to come in pairs, sometimes in
multiples. And, once it happens, it is too late to “wonder” in what
direction your muzzle was pointed!

In most hotel rooms, a relatively safe direction (at least for pistols) is
usually represented by the toilet bowl and the air-conditioner. A pistol
bullet impacting into either of these objects will surely do damage, but
will probably not penetrate through-and-through.

A superior alternative, and the one I adhere to, is to travel with a “Safe
Direction” ballistic pad. These ballistic containment systems are an
integral part of every Operator’s travel ensemble. With it, I can instantly ”
manufacture” a safe direction in which to point my pistol virtually
anywhere! Go to safedirection.com

These episodes are, of course, embarrassing for both the student involved,
and for me! Thank Heaven, the two I’ve been close to involved only
property damage. I know many of us naively believe we would never be “that
stupid.” The two students described above foolishly believed the same thing!

Carefully adhere to the foregoing advice. But, even them, there are no
guarantees!

John S. Farnam

New York newspaper to list more gun permit holders after uproar – Yahoo! News

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New York newspaper to list more gun permit holders after uproar – Yahoo! News.

This isn’t journalism. It’s not about informing the public. It is wanton and reckless endangerment of law abiding citizens who have committed no crimes. These “journalists” have an agenda and as much as they’d likely claim the NRA has blood on its hands as a result of the Newtown tragedy and others, these “journalists” should surely consider themselves just as guilty if someone targets these innocent citizens for violence. Then again, that would require them to be logical and thoughtful people which they clearly are not.

 

The Odd Couple

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The Odd Couple

Today, I spent a little time behind two guns I haven’t pulled out of the safe in a long while.  Almost four years in fact. Both of them are chambered in .357 Magnum and despite being revolvers of the same manufacturer, they are as much an odd couple as Oscar and Felix. One, is a classic Smith & Wesson (S&W), N-frame workhorse of a bygone era when the Texas Highway Patrol still carried revolvers.  The other was part of an early attempt by S&W to generate new interest in revolvers by departing from the classic “six-shooter” paradigm with a medium frame seven-shooter to replace the venerable Model 19 and Model 66 K-frame, .357 Magnums.

The S&W Model 28-2 was at one point, standard equipment for troopers with the Texas Highway Patrol.  This example came to me with a six inch barrel, polished internals, and a very slim trigger that has been polished to a high sheen to facilitate easy shooting in double-action mode.  The double action trigger is a very smooth seven to eight pounds while the single-action trigger breaks at a crisp 2-2.5lbs.  They don’t make them like this anymore (pinned barrel, recessed cylinders, deep bluing, etc).  As old police guns go, this one stands out with just a little holster wear and only the slightest hints of having ever been fired…Well, at least until I owned it.  There’s no mistaking the blast of the 357 Magnum but in spite of it, the felt recoil is milder than many 9mm semi-automatic pistols.  Of all my revolvers, it is probably my favorite.  It is an excellent, often cheaper and easier to find, alternative to the Model 27.

The seven-shooter mentioned earlier, is a 2005 vintage Model 620.  As is the case in S&W’s catalog, this gun a Model 66 in my inventory whose action (particularly the cylinders and frames) had seen better days before I subjected it to a steady diet of eight to ten-thousand, full-power loads over the course of a several years.  Unlike its K-frame predecessors, the 620 uses the larger, heavier L-frame common to guns such as the 586/686.  To reduce weight, the 620 features a two piece barrel with a half-length lug rather than the monolithic, full-length lug that was integral with 586/686 barrels.  The trigger, reflects modern liability issues and is fairly heavy in DA mode at around 12lbs while the single-action trigger breaks at about 4lbs. While not as heavy as a 686, the balance and feel aren’t the same as the old Model 19/66 K-frames either and unfortunately, S&W dropped these fine guns from their catalog.  Making matters worse, it was never easy to find ancillary items like holsters, speed-loaders, or moon-clips if you wanted to convert it to use them because it didn’t quite fit the mold of items made for the 586/686. That said, the extra round and weight savings over a 686 or the big N-frame still makes it very handy in its own right and worth of consideration in the second-hand market.  I’m fortunate enough to have a Comp-Tac Speed Paddle for this gun and carriers for my speed-loaders for this gun from the days when Gregg Garrett himself was forming holsters by hand.

Both are fine revolvers and should be a welcome addition to anyone’s toolbox.  Which is best really depends on the shooters needs.  The Model 28 was once a lawgiver in Texas but today, is more likely to be at home with a hunter or silhouette shooter.  The 620 is a viable option for someone wanting a modern revolver for self-defense but, it might be easier to find holsters and such for other models that haven’t been dropped from the S&W catalog.  My copies of each, and the Comp-Tac gear to go with them are not for sale.  You’ll have to get your own.

-Gary