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P30 Thursday: Week Eight … We’re Back!

10,959 rounds
7 stoppages, 0 malfunctions, 0 parts breakages

The test gun returned from HK’s service center in Columbus, Georgia today. It went straight to the range and …

… 1,000 trouble free rounds in a row, fired in about three hours, without any cleaning or additional lubrication. In fact, I even fired 100 rounds each of the Atlanta Arms & Ammo 115gr TCJ and the 115gr Blazer FMJ which had suffered stoppages previously. No problem. At one point, I was randomly staggering magazines with the AA&A, Blazer, and Federal 124gr +p HST just to see if something would stop working … but it didn’t.

HK reports that the gun apparently left the factory with an out-of-spec hammer spring (a.k.a. mainspring). Even after nearly 10,000 rounds, it was still putting too much tension on the hammer. Thus, when the gun recoiled, it had to fight more resistance than intended and once in a while (7 times, at least) it wouldn’t cycle completely. This resulted in the extraction failures.

An HK gunsmith called me earlier this week to discuss his findings. I was extremely impressed with his knowledge and professionalism. He documented every single thing done to the gun, including the one replaced part (hammer spring). HK test fired 255 rounds while the gun was in Georgia, split between 115gr American Eagle FMJ, 124gr American Eagle FMJ, and 124gr Remington FMJ. Finally, the gunsmith performed what the repair form calls a Basic Cleaning along with the handwritten note “Didn’t want to take all your fun away.”

My confidence in the gun is 100%, and it is back in my holster after tonight’s marathon. Before next week’s P30 Thursday entry, we should have 2,000 Round Challenge results, finally!

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Previous P30 Endurance Test posts at pistol-training.com:

• Week Seven
• Week Six
• Week Five
• Week Four
• Week Three
• Week Two
• Week One
• Initial Report

Posted in Gear, P30 Thursday | 2 Comments »

Colt Recall

First seen at Xavier Thoughts:

Colt’s Manufacturing Company LLC has determined that the Slide Lock Safety and the Recoil Spring Guide Pad in certain Colt model pistols were not manufactured to Colt specifications and must be replaced.  All of these Colt models were sold after March 2007 and the range of serial numbers affected by this product recall is as follows:

• 1911 WWI Replica (O1911)
  • From 4597WMK  - To –  5414WMK
  • affected: slide lock safety
  • must be returned to factory
• 1918 WWI Replica (O1918)
  • From 1001WWI  - To –  3431WWI
  • affected: slide lock safety
  • must be returned to factory
• Combat Elite (O8011XSE)
  • From CG10000E  - To –  CG11293E
  • affected: slide lock safety
  • must be returned to factory
• New Agent (O7810D)
  • From GT01001  - To –  GT04505
  • affected: slide lock safety, recoil spring guide pad
  • must be returned to factory
• Defender (O7000D)
  • From DR33036  - To –  DR35948
  • affected: recoil spring guide pad
  • does not need to be returned, but do not load or use until replacement parts are installed
• Talo Night Defender (O7000NDF)
  • From NDF0001  - To –  NDF0400
  • affected: recoil spring guide pad
  • does not need to be returned, but do not load or use until replacement parts are installed

Go to Colt’s web site for full details.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Posted in Gear | No Comments »

New Article Posted

After copying it repeatedly in various online discussions, I finally decided to clean up my HK LEM vs. SIG DAK comments and post them here as an article. For those who are trying to decide between the two, hopefully this quick guide will help you determine which is the best choice for your personal shooting goals.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Posted in Gear | 3 Comments »

Status Checks Are Free

Thursday evening, a student reminded me — inadvertently — that it’s important to check the status of your pistol before you put it in your holster.

The student met me outside the range for a debrief and critique of his performance. While we talked, I glanced at the 1911 in his holster and noticed the magazine wasn’t fully seated. I suggested he check to be sure there was a round in the chamber, and sure enough when he stepped off to the safe area, the gun was not loaded. He had an empty chamber and a magazine that wasn’t locked into the gun … a gun he thought was loaded actually wasn’t.

A status check should be a ritual, something you do every time you load the gun. My ritual goes like this:

1. check the chamber by pulling the slide backward slightly to that I can see or if necessary feel the presence of a loaded cartridge in the barrel
2. release the slide forward and tap the back of the slide to guarantee the gun is in battery
3. tap the bottom of the magazine and then tug down on the floorplate to make sure it is seated properly

I check that there’s a round in the chamber, that the gun is in battery, and that the magazine is locked in place. Once you do it enough that it becomes a ritual, the entire process takes maybe five seconds. It’s easy, it’s quick, and it doesn’t cost a penny.

You do not have to do this at the end of every single drill. If you’re going to be shooting Bill Drills all afternoon, you do not want to status check your pistol 100 times in an hour. But when you are done with a particular exercise, or perhaps every time you reload, go through the check before holstering the gun. Make it a habit. Make it a ritual.

Obviously, any time you load the gun for duty, home defense, or as a CCW, you should perform your status check. Otherwise, you just might walk out the door with a paperweight on your hip instead of a pistol.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

(special thanks to Kevin B. of the Federal Air Marshal Service for first introducing me to the concept of the post-shooting ritual, and to my friend “Failure2Stop” — of M4Carbine.net fame — for pointing out during some time on the range last year that I’d stopped practicing what I was preaching)

Posted in Gear, Learning, Teaching | 5 Comments »

Aim Fast, Hit Fast in Louisiana

The Southern Shooting Center will be hosting pistol-training.com’s Aim Fast, Hit Fast program on 17-18 October 2009. For all the details, check out the announcement in our Classes section.

Hope to see you there. We can all enjoy some eatou … etoof … ehtou … gumbo together.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Posted in Teaching | 3 Comments »

Job Satisfaction: I Have It

Words cannot describe …

I think we’re ready to test that P30 now.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Posted in Gear | 28 Comments »

From Foolhardy to Funny

Mike Fingar of LaRue Tactical expressed his thoughts about the “downrange cameraman” incident (as seen last week) with a pretty funny graphic:

(click on image for full size version)

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Posted in Teaching | 4 Comments »

P30 Thursday: Week Seven

9,704 rounds
7 stoppages, 0 malfunctions, 0 parts breakages

As you can see from the numbers above, things this week did not go as planned.

The gun had another extraction failure early in the week, which prompted me to detail strip the pistol for a stem-to-stern cleaning. The extractor and extractor channel were very dirty, but nothing appeared damaged. Seven hundred rounds were fired through the pistol the next day without a single problem.

But yesterday, seemingly out of the blue the gun suffered four more extraction failures. After the first, the gun was lubricated. After the second, the chamber was cleaned with a bore snake. When two more FTEs occurred within about 50 rounds, it was time to call HK.

We all agreed that seven extraction failures in two weeks was not what any of us expect from the P30. So many owners have reported sewing machine-like consistency with their P30s that this one has clearly got a gremlin somewhere. So the pistol is on its way to Heckler & Koch’s facility in Columbus, GA for inspection. Therefore, this will be the last P30 Thursday until we get the gun back and can start testing again.

Luckily, I have a spare P30 which I’ll be carrying and practicing with in the meantime. Because notwithstanding the test gun’s funky behavior, I’ve definitely come to appreciate the shootability and ergonomics of the P30. For example, earlier during Week Seven I shot four clean sub-5 second F.A.S.T. in a row, tying a personal best for me. My best score in the run was a 4.47, which also tied my personal best with the P30. On the fifth run, I dropped a head shot. Can’t blame the gun for that …

I’m consistently getting first-shot draw times in the 1.10-1.20 range, from concealment using my appendix carry Looper and an untucked polo shirt. So the whole idea that the longer trigger pull of a DAO gun slows down your first shot is pretty much put to bed there. And how does that “long” reset affect split times? I’m easily pulling splits in the high teens while still getting all my hits on an 8″ plate at 25 feet. This isn’t “double tap” speed, it’s consistent for strings of sustained fire 4-8 shots.

One good thing that I learned as a result of detail stripping the gun: with some strategic TW25B placement on the action, it’s easy to reduce and smooth out the LEM trigger pull even more. My trigger pull is now down to five pounds, ten ounces … a full pound lighter than before the grease was applied to the internals.

As soon as we hear from HK, we’ll let everyone know the details and resume the test as quickly as possible.

Now for this week’s Gray Room picture. Pictured below is the P30 endurance test gun along with Heckler & Koch’s famed GMG full-auto 40mm grenade launcher. Not quite the same category of weapon as last week’s classic HK4, is it? In the background you can see some of the prototype .45s that led to the Mark23 SOCOM pistol contract. You can click on the image for a larger view.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Previous P30 Endurance Test posts at pistol-training.com:

• Week Six
• Week Five
• Week Four
• Week Three
• Week Two
• Week One
• Initial Report

Posted in Gear, P30 Thursday | 8 Comments »

Foolhardy

Can anyone tell me what’s wrong with this picture:

To see the entire video, you can go here.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Posted in Teaching | 25 Comments »

Glock Adj Grips Confirmed AGAIN

Just a follow-up to Wednesday’s post. Yesterday I received confirmation from Glock that the “adjustable grips” rumor is true and commercial release is hoped for by SHOT 2010, with some LE customers getting samples later this year.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Posted in Gear | 8 Comments »

P30 Thursday: Week Six

7,387 rounds
2 stoppages, 0 malfunctions, 0 parts breakages

Some great news and some bad news this week.

First, the bad news: two extraction failures shooting NATO-specification 124gr Winchester FMJ ammunition. Simultaneously, the pistol began acting a bit weird during slidelock reloads (slide going forward on its own not just when the magazine was inserted, which rarely happens for me otherwise, but also occasionally when the empty mag was simply ejected). A call to HK diagnosed the problem as weak magazine springs, and they overnighted new ones to me. I’m happy to say the problems went away, as tested today during 700+ rounds of shooting everything from the incredibly soft shooting American Eagle 124gr Indoor Range TMJ to 124gr +p Gold Dot.

Next, the great news. Luckily, there is a lot of it.

Safariland has sent one of its RLS (Rapid Light System) gadgets for evaluation. The RLS lets you carry a normal handheld light via belt clip, but with just a simple motion it attaches to the Picatinny-style accessory rail on your pistol. After ditching the supplied Safariland-branded light for my trusty Novatac 120P, I’ve been carrying it for about a week. The RLS has its pros and cons. The only major negative from my perspective is that it is incompatible with my normal shooting grip, and trying to find a way to hold the gun without giving up the benefit of a two-handed hold — the whole reason for using a weapon-mounted light in the first place, after all — is tricky.

I pulled a best-ever P30 F.A.S.T. score this week, 4.47 clean. I’m consistently in the 4.50-5.00 range with the gun now. My personal record is 4.26 with the M&P9 about four months into last year’s test. It will be interesting to see how the P30 is doing by that point.

Today, I became the first certified P30 armorer in the United States. In fact, the program is so new they do not have armorer manuals printed up yet. And while I was at HK USA getting trained, I also had a chance to spend a couple of hours in the legendary Gray Room! So as a new feature of P30 Thursday every week, we’ll be posting a picture of the endurance test gun along side one or more historic, famous, or prototype HK weapons. To start things off, the first such picture (at the beginning of this entry, click for larger version) is with an HK4, the first pistol the company ever produced.

Finally, we’re very happy to announce that pistol-training.com is partnering with Atlanta Arms & Ammo, supplier to such prestigious folks as the Army Marksmanship Unit and Team Glock, for a big chunk of the ammunition that will be used in testing the P30. Thanks go out to everyone at Atlanta Arms & Ammo for their support! As the AA&A ammo starts to arrive, we’ll be able to pick up the pace on the P30 test significantly. Our goal for next week: hit 10,000 rounds.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Previous P30 Endurance Test posts at pistol-training.com:

• Week Five
• Week Four
• Week Three
• Week Two
• Week One
• Initial Report

Posted in Gear, P30 Thursday | 16 Comments »

Glock Adj Grips Confirmed

From a good friend and industry professional attending NAPED, it’s confirmed. Glock is officially informing vendors that adjustable grip versions of some guns will be available … probably around SHOT Show 2010.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Posted in Gear | 17 Comments »

Rumor: Glock to Release Adjustable Grip Models?

Guns Holsters and Gear is reporting a rumor that Glock has revealed plans to make adjustable grip versions of their pistols by early next year. Here is a screen shot from part of their blog:

Click on the image, above, or follow this link to read the whole story from Guns Holsters and Gear.

Like many folks, we’re reaching out to folks at Glock to get confirmation. 

Thanks to pistol-training.com reader Bax for the scoop!

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Posted in Gear | 1 Comment »

Team S&W Dominates IRC

Taken straight from Julie Golob’s blog, here are the winners of the 2009 International Revolver Championship:

• Overall & Open Division Champion – Jerry Miculek
• Limited Division Champion – John Bagakis
• Lady Limited Champion – Annette Aysen
• Lady Open Champion – Julie Golob
• Senior Champion – Elliot Aysen
• IDPA Champion – Craig Buckland
• Open Shoot Off Champion – Jerry Miculek
• Limited Shoot Off Champion – John Bagakis

… all Team S&W shooters.

The IRC is the annual championship match of the International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts (ICORE). If you’re interested, you can see the courses of fire used at the match at the ICORE website.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Posted in Competition | 4 Comments »

Name the Drill, Win a Prize

Earlier this week, I was shooting with Scott Warren (of Warren Tactical) and we worked on something he’s adapted from one of Rob Leatham’s drills. It’s a pretty straightforward transition routine. You start with four steel chest plates at a range of 10yd, spaced three yards apart. On the buzzer, draw and engage one shot per target back and forth for 20 rounds. Goal is 100% hits in less than 10 seconds. Note that you do not “double” the targets on the end, you shoot them once and then reverse direction. So the sequence is: T1-T2-T3-T4-T3-T2-T1-T2, etc. There are no makeup shots. If you miss a plate, it’s a miss … move on to the next plate.
 
We’re planning to list this at the pistol-training.com Drills page, but there’s a problem. The drill doesn’t have a name. How can you list a drill that doesn’t have a name? 
 
So Scott has offered to help us find a name. For 4 days, you can respond to this post with your idea for the perfect name to give this drill. Deadline is 11:59 PM EDT on Monday 8-June. Scott will choose the best suggestion and the winner will receive a free set of Warren Tactical sights. 

Even though you don’t need to shoot the drill to offer up a name, you should shoot it to appreciate the training factor. It’s easy to set up, and makes for a fast & simple drill to work your target to target transitions.

Please limit your suggestions to three (3) per person. 

So, let the names begin! ToddG

Posted in DotW, Learning, Teaching | 77 Comments »

P30 Thursday: Week Five

6,249 rounds
0 stoppages, 0 malfunctions, 0 parts breakages

Major improvement to the P30 this week: Heinie QWIK Straight Eight night sights.

The prototype “factory” night sights that were on the gun before now were typical of most gun companies’ offerings. The front blade is wide, the rear notch is narrow, and the dots on the rear sight are very large (and distracting). They may be adequate for most people, but better designs exist.

For the P30, Heinie is the best option available. The particular combination on the test gun combines a wider-than-normal rear notch (”QWIK”) and a dot-over-dot night sight configuration (”Straight Eight”). The rear sight fits loosely in the slide cut until the two set screws are tightened. Experience has taught me that it’s important to Loktite the rear sight. Ask me how I know …

The front sight is very narrow, which provides excellent accuracy and speed for a combat oriented handgun. As you can see in the photo (left), I’ve already performed the JohnO DIY High Visibility Front Sight treatment. In this case, I simply used a paint pen from a craft store. The serrations made it easy to apply the paint. It’s fairly waterproof, but won’t withstand cleaning solvents. Luckily, painting the front sight takes all of ten seconds … reapplying it each time the gun is cleaned won’t be a hardship. The front sight’s set screws stick way up out of the sight base, as you can see in the photo. It does not interfere with shooting in any way, but looks pretty crappy. I may have to shave them down to size.

The sight picture works very well, better than the photos can show. Point of impact is very consistent with the top edge of the front sight. At 15yd, I easily managed a 1″ group fired offhand (see photo at right).

Otherwise, nothing particularly exciting to report. A couple of short range sessions was all the gun saw this week, unfortunately. The gun devoured another 500 rounds of Blazer without a stoppage, proving that as long as the chamber is clean and the gun is well lubricated it will handle that ammo without problem. Hopefully, next week we’ll be able to pick up the pace considerably thanks to a new ammo partner. Check back next Thursday to read all about that.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Previous P30 Endurance Test posts at pistol-training.com:

• Week Four
• Week Three
• Week Two
• Week One
• Initial Report

Posted in Gear, P30 Thursday | 3 Comments »

Three New Practice Sessions at the NRA Range Announced

pistol-training.com has scheduled to teach three more Group Practice Sessions at the NRA Range. Sessions will be held the fourth Sunday of each month. While part of each session will focus on marksmanship fundamentals, the theme for the next three sessions will be:

• June 28: Draw & Reload
• July 26: Strong & Weak Hand
• August 23: Shooting on the Move

For details or to register, visit practice.pistol-training.com. Each session is $85 and class size is strictly limited.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Posted in Teaching | No Comments »

P30 Thursday: Week Four

5,514 rounds
0 stoppages, 0 malfunctions, 0 parts breakages

Sorry for the tardy “Thursday” report. The HK P30 LEM and I traveled from Georgia to Maryland to Wisconsin and back to Maryland during Week Four and today is the first chance to post an update.

Week Four began with one last practice session in Georgia with my good friend (and ATF Special Agent) Todd Kennedy, who earned a pistol-training.com F.A.S.T. Challenge Coin. I played around with the grip options on the P30 that day and determined that using the Medium sized left panel causes me to ride the slide release lever, preventing the gun from locking back when empty. I’ve gone back to the Large panel on the left and have had no such problems since.

Also this week, I taught an abbreviated version of the Aim Fast, Hit Fast program to 22 SWAT cops at the Midwest Tactical Officer’s Association annual conference in Wisconsin. The P30 not only proved its ability to run in the pouring rain, but with absolutely zero maintenance (or even a wipe down) afterwards, the gun’s finish has proven to be impervious to the elements, as well. Not a speck of corrosion has appeared on the gun.

On the second day of the conference, the P30 was treated to much nicer weather during the Spartan Tactical Training Group’s Advanced Pistol 2: Rapid Deployment Pistol Operator course at MTOA. The lone DAO pistol among a crowd almost completely consisting of Glock shooters, the LEM proved itself more than capable by taking top honors during the class Dueling Tree shoot-off.

Over the course of this week, the gun digested everything from light 115gr American Eagle loads to M882 (full NATO spec U.S. military 9mm ball) and 124gr +p Gold Dot without a single stoppage of any kind. It even fired a couple hundred rounds of Blazer without any trouble. 

With regards to the Blazer, what we’re learning is that if you keep the gun (and especially the chamber) clean, the gun will eat the aluminum-cased ammo without any problem. But if you are somewhat lackadaisical about your cleaning regimen, brass-cased ammo is the surer bet.

One addition this week was the SmartCarry® holster. With only one day of testing before the Wisconsin trip it was impossible to form a detailed opinion but so far I’ve been amazed at how comfortable the SmartCarry is with a full sized HK P30 and spare magazine. The concealability of the SmartCarry is unparalleled, allowing you to wear almost any type of clothing (no belt, tucked in shirt … no problem). The draw is definitely slower than what’s possible with a good appendix IWB like the Custom Carry Concepts Looper the P30 has been carried in for the past four weeks, but when circumstances dictate a concealed carry-unfriendly mode of dress, the SmartCarry allows you to wear a full size gun and plenty of spare ammunition instead of the normal fallback of a j-frame or mouse gun. More on the SmartCarry next week after a chance to use it for a few days and to put the drawstroke on a shot timer.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Previous P30 Endurance Test posts at pistol-training.com:

• Week Three
• Week Two
• Week One
• Initial Report

Posted in Gear, P30 Thursday | 9 Comments »

Memorial Day

To all of the U.S. servicemen and women, past and present, who have dedicated their lives, risked their lives, and given their lives for this country, we thank you.

To all of the wives, husbands, children, parents, and friends who have watched their loved ones ship out for the next tour of duty, we thank you.

Without you — all of you — there would be no United States of America. Without you and the sacrifices you have made, the world would be much diminished.

So while our country spends today at picnics and shopping mall sales, know that some of us do remember what this day means, and we thank you for what you have given us.

ToddG

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Bianchi Cup Results

The 2009 NRA Bianchi Cup results are in:

• High Overall/High Open: Bruce Piatt (1920-181)
• High Metallic Sights: Rob Leatham (1909-145)
• High Lady: Julie Golob (1907-138)
• High Production: Dave Sevigny (1806-101)

You can find all of the results at the Green Valley Rifle & Pistol Club website, and the final official results should be posted on the NRA’s Bianchi Cup Blog soon(TM).

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Posted in Competition | No Comments »