All posts tagged Beretta 92FS

Laser grips? Are they any different now?

Just like the white lights that could only be mounted to trigger guards and the lasers that mounted the same way, gun manufacturers have been modifying their firearms so that can all be accessorized.  It’s really easy to spot some of the older model Sig 228 and Sig 229 guns because they don’t have rails.  Now it’s pretty much the law of the land to have a rail on your handgun because so many understand the need for using a white light.  Just like everything that has to do with firearms and caliber debates, you have to know what the task at hand is and know what tools will work to get the job done.

I agree that the best place to put a laser is probable right inside the barrel and beam it out of the exact same spot the bullet flies out of, but right now that is impossible.   Lasermax and Crimson Trace laser grips have different approaches to getting the same job done, and it’s really what your preference is.  For close up fighting, once you get your laser setup for the ranges you wish to do combat training or defensive training in your laser will work, but side mounted lasers will become inaccurate once you get out of your comfort zone.

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Shoulder holsters and the firing line

I always use to carry my full size autos in a shoulder holster, but I had a situation a few years ago where I thought that since the gun was vertical holster I didn’t need the retention strap and I ended up almost losing a gun when I unexpectedly felt it almost fall out.    I’ve grown to appreciate locking holsters like the Blackhawk Serpa and I always use a retention strap when using a shoulder rig.   Shoulder holsters are frowned upon by many firearm instructors because it’s hard to train someone on a firing line in that configuration.   Back in the day, most of the FBI agents I worked with carried in a shoulder holster, but not anymore.

There have been times that I have walked up to a firing line and noticed that I could clearly identify the hollow point ammunition in a firearm because even though it was holster, I was looking down the barrel.   A few guys in a long range shooting competion had their guns in gun holsters, and they were locked in, but I was still uncomfortable standing there.  If you have a horizontal shoulder holster and you were on the firing line, and I was standing directly behind you, you would be pointing  your gun at me without having your hand on it.   Is this alarming?  Not really,  but there is a split second period where if you were to go and unholster the gun, your hand would be on the firearm as it was pointing at me, and you would be violating one of the safety rules.

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Revival of laser grips?

I think there really has been a change in attitude towards  using laser grips.    Now that police and military are actually being trained to use their weapons and every municipality has a better trained SWAT team than a decade ago, lasers are actually finding a place in the CCW and LEO communities.   When I first saw lasers coming onto the scene in the late 1990s many un trained LEOs got into situations where they would have normally pulled the trigger and taken the first shot, but the lasers slowed their shooting down because they were tracking the dot.

Instinctive shooting can’t be compromised, period.  When you are  in a defensive situation, you are more than likely within 9yds are less of your attacker and there is no need to even look at your sights let alone your laser dot.   Now that we have cleared that up, Crimson Trace laser grips has done a good job as a company of sending out a Free DVD that gives you some ideas on how to deploy a laser in defensive situations where it actually reduces your chances of being shot by helping  you stay under cover.

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Keep your range mags and your primaries separate

Gun magazines have various levels of quality.   Some gun magazines are meant as throw aways i.e. 1911 magazines made in Tawain.   I have several 1911 GI magazines that were pretty good range mags, but when they jammed up on me, and I could blame it on the gun springs, it was time to toss them.   Buying Wolff gun springs that cost about $8 for an $8 magazine isn’t really worth my time, plus I’ve found that many of these have worn out followers and it’s really not worth the headach to tweak them, plus I’d consider them to not be worth using for self defense.   Wilson Combat and Chip McCormick make very good gun magazines and both of them should help get your 1911 to be more tolerant of various types of ammunition.

The one thing I have learned over the years is that no matter how much money I spent on a firearm, I’m still going to have something break.  When you put thousands of rounds through a firearm the you will eventually have to learn some level of gunsmithing.   After taking some of my guns to gunsmiths and having to wait for months to get simple things done, it’s good to pick up an AGI video and do the changes yourself.   The same goes for gun magazines.   Parts on a gun magazine can wear out and depending on how much you spent on the magazine, you may want to just toss it in the trash.  For some magazines, you will only have to replace the springs to get it back to reliable functionality.

 

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Choose youre cleaning system

Otis Cleaning Systemsquickly clean the receiver, chamber, neck and bore. The brass obstruction removers are used to knock out bore obstructions and stuck cases. With the components from the brass scraper tool set the bolt, bolt carrier, locking lugs, and upper and lower receivers can be thoroughly cleaned. The lens cleaner, lens tissues and mohair lens brush will assist you in making sure your optics are clean and clear. Don’t let the poor accuracy of unclean optics prevent you from achieving the results you deserve. The comprehensive instruction booklet and mini CD-Rom with video instructions will help give you flawless performance in mission critical situations.

 

This Law Enforcement .223 Cal./5.56MM cleaning system offers you the tools to clean and maintain every aspect of your rifle. This weapons maintenance system provides you the necessary tools to completely break down and clean some of the most critical parts of your firearm. One of the best, Otis gun cleaning kits. The Memory-Flex� cleaning rods, solid brass slotted tips, 100% cotton cleaning patches, bore brushes, and the all-in-one cleaner, lubricant, and preservative allow you to

 

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Those little .380s

The .380 has now become one of the most popular CCW calibers.   I guess so many people are now being awakened to gun rights that gun manufacturers are catering to their desires for smaller concealeable weapons.   I’ve seen what the .380 caliber can do and in all honesty, the caliber is really a minimal caliber and you better do some real good thinking on how to effectively engage a target when you are carrying such a weapon.   It still amazes me that to this day, 90% of the people I know that carry a firearm have had ZERO formal training.   I would say that considering the fact that people are bigger today than they were 100yrs ago and that crack cocaine, PCP and other street drugs can make people bolder and stronger than ever, you better know that firing on a target until it’s down is something you better know about and not expect a one shot stop.   I’m sure I may be pissing off a few “experts” in CCW, but if I am going to carry such a weapon, I’ll have the gun unloaded on target A and expect to be moving and reloading for the expected follow up shots.

There was a shooting in the Phildelphia area in the last decade where a female police officer was killed by a bg with a .380, but it was a point blank direct hit to the head.  I hate to be so graphic, but that’s about what you’re going to have to expect this caliber to do.   I have heard of bullets not penetrating the cranium and a full magazine of .380 holding 6-7rds should be expect to be used on a target.   I’m starting to see some laser companies putting lasers on these small gun which IMHO may be a good idea to help in low light shooting.  Crimson trace laser grips makes them for Walther PPK pistols which are one of my favorite .380 guns.  I realize that many who carry a CCW may not consider themselves at high risk, but for anyone  in a high threat or high risk job, should seriously consider a larger caliber.    Depending on  your body size, Kahr and Kel-Tec make some nice pocket 9mm that are closer to what I would consider to be minimal calibers for defensive use.

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New tools new tactics

Whenever we run a novice student through a carbine course, one of the first things we teach them after the basic saftey and shooting techniques is barrel sight offset.   Since so many people are using AR15 type rifles, there is a considerable distance between the place where a scope points its crosshairs and where the bullet is going to impact at close ranges.   Something like a Trijicon ACOG gives you a good idea of what people mostly use and we show crosshairs pointing at a dot and where the bullet hits approx 2 inches below that.   This really only has a purpose in showing a shooter what could be applied is using a firearm in self defense in a hostage type situation.

Since lasers have been improving and prices are coming down, we see them showing up more and more on handguns.   While I suggest people take a look at the price they are paying for them and do a lot of research on the durability of the product, a whole new can of worms emerges when sighting in your crimson trace or lasermax laser sights.   Depending on how your laser is mounted, there will be a windage offset that needs to be known.  Crimson Trace laser grips on revolvers can project from right above the grip area or there is a newer style that projects next to where the barrel line is.   Each have their pros and cons, but there is still an offset.   With new tools, there are always slight changes that need to be made to insure an operator knows that with distance, bullet impacts change.

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Transportation and travel with guns

rifle casesSKB and Pelican make gun storage units that will protect your guns if they get knocked around.  The foam pads can always be customized for specific guns and gear and I highly recommend doing so.   I strongly believe in buying gun cases that are for specific firearms and especially so for rifles.   You will be able to fit varying sizes of handguns in the pistol cases depeding on which way you place them, but rifles will get tricky and since most of them will have optics, you gotta be careful how much you pack them.  There are even some rifle cases that can hold your magazines, pistol, and pistol magazines.

There are always pros and cons of certain types of gear for your rifle and there are always trade offs.  A gun sock is good for protecting your guns from some levels of friction, they don’t take up much room in storage and they also don’t add weight to your gun in transport.   Any padded gun case will give you easy  use and easy storage, but when you start transporting firearms that are $1500-$5000 you’re going to want to think about hard rifle cases.   Granted, a sniper drag bag that is properly designed will give you plenty of protection and easy to drag around, but I’m talking about range days or inter State transportation.

 

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Why Laser Sights?

Crimson Trace Laser GripsWhy Laser Sights? Immediate Decisive AdvantageThe answer is short-and-sweet: Lasergrips provide you with instant and overwhelming advantages you wouldn’t otherwise have. Laser sights simply help you shoot better, with greater speed and accuracy, which translates into increased confidence—even in tense and threatening scenarios, when hours and hours of vigilant training can disappear in a haze of panic and confusion.

 

Maybe it’s a conversation with a shooting buddy, or with your better half, or maybe with yourself. The topic used to center on whether laser sights such as Crimson Trace Lasergrips have a legitimate place in the world of guns and personal defense. (Which, of course, they do.) So today the specific question is more along the lines of: “How much more effective will a laser make me?”

 

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Carrying full size handguns

gun holstersComfort is very important for those that are carrying 8-10hrs or more a  day.   I’ve carried various firearms over my life and sometimes it’s fine carrying something Monday-Friday, but if I’m still carrying it on Day 6, I can really feel it.   I’ve found that driving in a car for long periods of time can really make IWB and paddle holsters feel annoying after a couple hours.    I can use an ankle holster is some situations, but I’ve found that the most comfortable way to carry a full size auto for long periods of time is in a should rig.   Leg holsters are probable a 2nd favorite, but that’s not going to work for concealed carry purposes.   One thing to always be aware of is not sweeping body parts when pulling  a firearm in the seated position while wearing a should rig.

There are so many methods of carrying a gun, but no firearm or holster is going to do it all.   Nobody carries a airweight 38 special in a leg holsters and it’s not a very good idea to carry a Beretta 92FS in your pocket, even if you can.   I’ve changed my thinking when it comes to CCW and the caliber debate.   Some of the best self defense instructors I know carry the smallest caliber firearms because they know that situational awareness is the best defense and if they have to deal with a threat, a good shot in the right spot is all that counts.   One method of carry that seems to be bashed a little too much is the shoulder holster rig.   These  gun holsters may not work very well for some body types and for warm weather because I admit it is easy to pick out the should straps if the appropriate clothing is not worn.

 

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