| 34,774 rounds | 7 stoppages (+1 w/non-LCI extractor) |
0 malfunctions | 0 parts breakages |
Finally some decent practice this week, most of it all in one day. Thanks as always to the great folks at the NRA Headquarters Range in Fairfax, Virginia!
I stepped up to the “5 Challenge” with decent results.
As expected, getting 100% hits wasn’t tough. My average time was 2.44 seconds, with an average draw from concealment of 1.37 seconds. You can see the target at left; 25 hits over the course of five runs.
It’s funny how an unfamiliar target and drill can affect things. Hitting a 5″ circle at 5yd isn’t a whole lot different than hitting an 8″ circle at 7yd, but my typical Bill Drill (6 shots) from concealment at 7yd on an 8″ circle is faster than only five shots here. Brains… they don’t always help.
Next, based on ChicksDigIt‘s suggestion in the comment area, I tried it on 2″ targets. Things did not go well. Out of six runs, only three were clean. I missed four shots over the course of the other three, for a total of 26/30. Average time for the clean runs was 4.32 seconds but when you can only shoot the drill clean half the time, speed isn’t really the thing you should be focusing on, huh?
My friend joshs introduced me to a new drill, the “Half & Half” (originally developed as a carbine drill by VTAC). He was shooting it with his carbine at a 5×8 target but I took the easy way out and used a full 8″ circle. There are three strings of fire:
- 20 yards, 10 shots in 10 seconds
- 10 yards, 10 shots in 5 seconds
- 5 yards, 10 shots in 2.5 seconds
I scored 28/30, missing one shot at 20yd and only getting nine off at 5yd. This was drawing from concealment (CCC Shaggy aiwb holster and CCC BMC mag pouch). Like JodyH’s excellent 99 Drill, the Half & Half is one of those things I know I could shoot clean on a perfect day but so far… not so perfect. The Half & Half will be going up on the Drills section soon.
Speaking of the 99, I shot it this week for the first time in more than a month. Score was a 93. I dropped one shot at 7yd, two on the reload stage, two at 10yd, and one at 15yd. The drill is so vexing I’ve begun poking my JodyH voodoo doll with sharp needles again. I went for the left arm this time…
A lot of my practice time this week went into reloads.
Since beginning the Glock 17 test, I’ve used three different magazine pouches at various times but I keep coming back to the BMC. That probably won’t surprise anyone — follow the link and you’ll see that Custom Carry Concepts credits me with helping to design the thing — but it just works better. Too many popular mag pouches these days block access to the front of the mag, requiring an off-center initial grip or (worse) the fumble-prone “crab claw” grip on the floorplate. Just like my drawstroke, I want my grip on the magazine to be as close to complete as possible before I even begin to lift it up. Not only is it more consistent and therefore faster, but it also means I’m less likely to fumble or drop the magazine if I’m moving or something/someone bumps into me.
The BMC is low profile, conceals well, and gives me that full grip. It’s also sturdy thanks to the solid belt loop. Some people prefer bendable clips but I’ve broken so many mag pouches (and holsters) with bendy clips that I don’t trust them. My mag pouch isn’t moving on and off the belt multiple times a day, so threading it every morning isn’t exactly a chore. By the way, before anyone jumps to conclusions I do not receive any money for the sale of any CCC holsters or mag pouches. The FCC insists I tell you that sometimes I do get stuff from Custom Carry Concepts for test & evaluation, though.
The test gun will be with me this weekend while teaching Aim Fast Hit Fast in Virginia. Also coming up this week, the Glock 17 goes to Porsche Sport Driving School…
It’s okay if your pistol is jealous. See you next week.
Train hard & stay safe! ToddG
Previous Glock 17 gen4 Endurance Test posts at pistol-training.com:
- Week 24
- Week 23
- Week 22
- Week 21
- Week 20
- Week 19
- Week 18
- 25,000 Rounds with the G17 gen4
- Week 17
- Week 15
- Week 13
- Week 12
- Week 11
- Week 10
- Week 9
- Week 8
- Week 6
- Week 5
- Week 4
- Week 3
- Week 2
- Week 1
- 99.8%
- It Lives
- Week Zero
- When Will It Stop?
- Announcement
New drill looks good. The gun part is getting boring isn’t it? 😉
Half and half is one of my favorite carbine drills. The times listed are for the carbine. However, when shot with the pistol the PAR times change to…
20 yards – 10 rounds – 12 seconds
10 yards – 10 rounds – 6 seconds
5 yards – 10 rounds – 3 seconds
The target specified is a standard IPSC target – only ‘A’ zone hits count. Shooter begins at position 3/ready position. This is per the VTAC Pistol Drills DVD (which is an excellent collection of drills).
For those that are interested, here’s a video of Kyle Lamb explaining the carbine version of the drill…
Based on the Viking Tactics DVDs that I have, the pistol version of the half-and-half is slightly different and shot from low ready(“position 3”). Demoed on an IPSC A-zone.
20yds – 10rds – 12sec
10yds – 10rds – 6sec
5yds – 10rds – 3sec
Oops, too slow!
More than my pistol is jealous.
Step away from the voodoo doll.
That’s fine. We can call it the “Half & Half Drill, Real Man Variant.”