All posts tagged Ruger P95

Outside the pants carry, how well can you conceal?

I’ve been on the mission of trying to find gun holsters that I can wear that are not IWB because I’ve had too many times where i got a bruise and it took weeks for it to go away.  If i got thrown around in a fight IWB is more likely to hurt you in my opinion, but for some situations it’s about the only way a thin guy can carry.   Now that I’ve grown  older and packed on a few extra pounds, I’ve been trying to see if I can get away with summer carry outside the pants.   Paddle holsters, especially the Blackhawk Serpa holsters protrude too far outside my body for me to conceal them with just a t-shirt.  I’ve been wearing an Eotac Style 103 for Spring Season, but once it warms up I can’t carry with my Blackhawk Serpa any longer.

I’m trying some of these Woolrich Elite CCW shirts, they are really, really impressive.   I think Woolrich got hurt pretty bad by the split up a few years ago, but the Woolrich Elite shirts i recently picked up have been really nice to wear to family and social events.  Since the 1911 is one of the thinnest built handguns I own, I have been trying one of these Galco holsters that is a locked in place by your belt and sits right up against your body.  I always prefer paddle holsters because they are easy to get on and off, but for CCW they just don’t cut it in the Summer.  My Colt 1911 is getting use to this configuration and I’ll report back as soon as I get the chance.

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Intended purpose of a Min 14

I remember that dark era of gun ownership where the Clinton Administration imposed the so called Assault Weapons Ban on law abiding citizens.   This ridiculous law basically made us cosmetically alter firearms and put a grandfather law on buying new standard capacity magazines.   There were some firearms that got hit really hard by this law and something like a 15rd Glock magazine went from being worth $20 to over $100.   There were some firearms that really weren’t worth buying because a handful of magazines meant the gun cost twice as much as it use to.

One gun that got hit really hard by the ban was the Sturm Ruger Mini 14.  This gun was issued to Law Enforcement at some points with 20rd and 30rd magazines, but since the magazines were not manufactured in large quantities, the AWB dried it up quickly.  Many manufacturers such as Promag magazines didn’t make even 10rd Mini 14 magazines.   The Min 14 is not a combat carbine and according to some conversations I had with Pat Rogers on gun forums the gun hasn’t made it through a single Carbine Class.   One way to keep the gun in it’s place is to use the appropriate magazine, probable 10rd and 20rd magazines are the most appropriate.

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Some say that a shoulder rig isn’t good CCW

Some say that a shoulder rig isn’t a good way of concealing a firearm, but I’d have to say that I think it’s the most comfortable way to carry a medium size auto.   There are considerable differences in the fit of each should rig, but I have actually found that Bulldog and Uncle Mike’s have made some really nice holsters that are very inexpensive.   If you are wearing a good gun belt you won’t have any bunching up where the straps latch on and if you are carrying a firearm in the winter, this can help free up the room around your belt line and give you some other jacket options that aren’t full length.

Galco gun holsters are still making the popular Miami should rig, but I’m not a big fan of the horizontal holsters.   These are banned at most of my CCW courses because it’s hard to actually use the holster and not sweep someone behind you if you are on the firing line.   I prefer to carry large size Sig Sauer pistols when I know I will be wearing a jacket full time and I like to carry them in something other than inside the pants gun holsters. I have recently picked up a Sig 229 in .357 Sig that I hope to get some good practice time in.  I don’t think it’ll be much of a big change from going from a Sig 228 9mm to a Sig 229.   There is a noticeable amount of weight but a whole bunch more punch.

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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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CCW and thinking ahead

The Boy Scout motto is BE PREPARED.   When we accept our responsibilities in carrying a firearm, one thing we have to be aware of is making sure that we are concealing our weapons and not overdoing it.    There are a few placed in the Country where you may be fined if anyone spots your concealed firearm, and although I think the vast majority of criminals aren’t looking for citizens with guns, it’s best to not advertise it.   I’ve found that over the years of carrying duty size weapons on the job and CCW are different for me.   I’m not too comfortable carrying double stack spare magazines around all day.

Something to consider while carrying a CCW gun is, it is good to always have a backup magazine available, but don’t go overboard in carrying gun magazines.   Statistics show that most gun fights occur with shots fired being in the single digits.   Knowing how to retreat from a gun fight is more important than carrying tons of ammo and expecting to stand your ground.

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