Saturday, December 26, 2009

AR-15 tip: homemade gapper to reduce chafing of finger on trigger guard

Most AR-15 trigger guards have a gap near the pistol grip.  When the top of your middle finger on your firing hand rubs against the gap, the metal edges of the gap scrape your finger painfully.

Some people stuff a foam earplug in there temporarily to reduce the issue.  This is mentioned in the book Green Eyes and Black Rifles.   I found it would inevitably fall out after a while.

There's also a product called the Gapper which is a foam piece specifically shaped to fit the gap.

A reviewer for the product on MidwayUSA mentioned that you can accomplish the same goal by using some hot glue from a hot glue gun in the gap to create your own gapper.   I tried it and found it works great.  The solid glue stays in the gap very well, and is not permanent; if you want you can actually remove it whole and use it in a different rifle.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Handgun grip technique

These articles/videos say it better than I could.

http://www.handgunsmag.com/tactics_training/combatg_100306/

Good article by Duane Thomas with tips from Brian Enos and Dave Sevigny on gripping the handgun.  While they have different nuances of their grip, they both use a thumbs forward, straight thumbs grip with the support wrist bent forward a little bit.

See also:
Magpul Dynamics on handgun grip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm9uG5bPubw

Springer Precision on handgun grip (check the 2 videos)
http://www.springerprecision.com/tip.asp


Maximizing the Combat Grip by Chris Fry
http://www.personaldefensenetwork.com/articles/handguns/maximizing-the-combat-grip/
Check the section about using grip tape to enhance the grip, and where the grip tape was applied


For more technique tips: http://jumpthestack.blogspot.com/search/label/shooting%20tips

Friday, December 11, 2009

Blackhawk Knoxx CompStock for Mossberg 500 review

My "Mossberg 500 Tactical" shotgun came from the factory with a ATI pistol grip stock with collapsible buttstock.
I wrote about pistol grip vs traditional before.

Mini-review on the ATI stock:
There was nothing particularly wrong with it, I found it comfortable and liked the ability to adjust the length.   Recoil was totally comfortable with birdshot, and noticeable but not too bad with buck and slugs.  It came with a shell holder on the side of the stock, which I didn't much care for.  A shell holder on the side of a stock prevents a cheek weld when shooting left handed, which one might need to do for whatever reason.

The ATI stock was okay, but I prefer a traditional style stock for the Mossberg; with the pistol grip on, you won't be able to manipulate the safety without taking your hand off the firing grip.  With the traditional style stock you can very easily and quickly manipulate the safety and slide release without moving from a firing grip, which is one of the strengths of the Mossberg shotguns.   I chose the CompStock over a regular fixed polymer or wood stock because I intend to take a few defensive shotgun classes and shooting 250 rounds of buck and 50 slugs in 2 days is presumably tough on the shoulder. 

The Knoxx CompStock for Mossberg 500 is a traditional style shotgun stock which uses a spring to reduce felt recoil.  Knoxx was bought by Blackhawk, so you sometimes see it called the Blackhawk CompStock.   Note: the Knoxx Spec-ops stock has a comparable recoil reducing feature but is a pistol grip stock with adjustable length of pull. 

When I got the stock, my first problem was that it doesn't come with a stock bolt.   The instructions mentioned something like "Mossberg owners should use their existing stock bolt".    The bolt that comes with the ATI stock is way too short to work with the CompStock, so I was out of luck.

I've read that if you call Mossberg, they will send you a stock bolt for free.  Another option is to go to a hardware store and buy a 5/16" hex head bolt that's 5.5 inches long.
Note:  5/16" is the width of the bolt(the long threaded part).   The hex head is 1/2" and thus requires a 1/2" socket.  When you look online about Mossberg stock bolts, sometimes you see people say 5/16, sometimes you see 1/2.   This is why.

You'll want one that's exactly 5.5 inches long.  5 inches is too short and 6 inches is too long.   I know because I bought a variety of 5/16" bolts.    Stupidly, I tried installing the 6" one, and it was too long and went into the trigger group and broke something in the back of the trigger group.  I was lucky that I went to Tabor's Shooter supply in San Bruno and Frank had a trigger group for the Mossberg 500 that he sold me for only $25 (he took my broken one in exchange to use for parts).  This was a good deal because a new one costs about $70.  I called Mossberg and they would have fixed/replaced it for free but I would have had to send my broken trigger group to them and the turn around time would have been about 3 weeks.  

To install the stock bolt, you need a socket wrench, an extender(about 6 inches is sufficient), and a 1/2" hex socket.  Obviously if you got some other kind of bolt besides a hex head, you might need some other kind of tool to install it, like a screwdriver or allen wrench.
 
I would recommend field stripping the shotgun and installing the stock bolt with the trigger group NOT installed.  When you install the stock bolt, make sure that it stays in the threaded hole in the back of the receiver.  If it protrudes at all into the inside of the receiver, it may interfere with the trigger or safety, and potentially cause a slam fire.

Aside from the stock bolt hassle, installation was very easy and straight forward.  You will need a long thin Philips head screwdriver to install one screw.  The screwdriver needs to go through a plastic hole and then go a few more inches before screwing in the screw.

The stock has a 13.5 inch length of pull, and you can separately buy a thicker pad that increases the LOP by an inch.  It's comfortable to me as it is.

When I was researching this stock(and the Knoxx Spec-Ops), some reviewers said that they felt a cheek slap from the receiver moving back with recoil, and a lot of other reviewers did not mention it or said they didn't feel it.
The instructions say to make sure your firing hand is at least 2 inches away from your face to avoid hitting your face with your hand, and to put your head a bit further back on the stock to avoid cheek slap.
It also recommends keeping the thumb of your firing hand up along the top of the stock rather than wrapping around the narrow portion of the front of the stock, in order to avoid contacting your face with your thumb.

I got a chance to use it in a class where I shot about 150 buck and 40 slugs.  The recoil reduction worked pretty well, I didn't really feel any recoil in my shoulder the whole time.   I did get cheek slapped a few times but after a while either I got used to it or figured out what cheek weld to use to avoid it, so after a while it wasn't an issue.  Update: I took another class where I shot about 200 buck and 30 slugs.  This time I had no cheek slap at all.   I think when people have a problem is when they incorrectly lower their face on top of the stock.  You need to keep your head upright and lift the gun up to the side of your face.  To tell if your mount is okay for not getting slapped, you can simply pull the stock back hard against your shoulder.  The spring will compress a little bit just from the force of your pull.   If you're doing it right, it shouldn't hurt at all.   I do not need to do anything special with my mount for this gun that I wouldn't have done with a traditional solid stock.

Shame on Knoxx for not including a stock bolt(which cost 80 cents at Home Depot).  It was a huge hassle to figure out what kind of bolt I needed to get and how to install it.

Was it worth over 100 bucks?  I'm still undecided.  While it is effective in reducing recoil, I'm not sure how much anyone actually needs recoil reduction equipment vs proper technique to reduce felt recoil.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Resource conservation tips

1) When you drink bottled water, save the bottles and fill them up with tap water.  Put them in the freezer.  They displace air and hold the cold better, saving energy in the freezer.  Plus they can be used for drinking water in an emergency.  If the freezer gets full, just take them out and set them aside, and put them back in later.

2) Unplug unused appliances.  Many of them use electricity even when powered off.  There are other fancy devices you can buy to optimize further without leaving them unplugged all the time.  See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standby_power

3) If it takes a long time for the water in your shower to get hot, save the cold water in a bucket.   Use it to flush the toilet(flush the toilet then pour the bucket in the tank).

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Good SIG customer service experience

I posted this previously on Sigforum at
http://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/430601935/m/330102671?r=330102671#330102671


Posted October 17, 2009 08:58 PM
I'm just letting you all know about my experience with SIG CS, which was very good.

Since I bought my new P220 Equinox, it had been having malfunctions(mostly failure to feed, a few double feeds), at a rate of about 1 or 2 every 100 rounds. After about 600 rounds of this, I decided to contact SIG customer service.

When I described the issue on the phone, the customer service rep immediately offered to have me send it back to be fixed.

They emailed me a prepaid UPS shipping label. I was told that I would get it back about 10-12 business days from when they received it. I sent it in on a Friday. I received it back the following Thursday, so there was very quick turnaround that beat the estimate by quite a bit.

Since it was going in for service anyways I decided to get the SRT and trigger job (Action Enhancement Package), which I paid for.

To fix the malfunction issue, the gunsmith polished the feed ramp and replaced the extractor, and test fired 50 rounds with no failures. I just put 150 rounds through it with 0 malfunctions, so it seems to have worked.

I'm really happy with the Action Enhancement Package. The pull on double action feels significantly lighter and smoother. I wasn't unhappy with the factory double action trigger, it was comparable to DA on other guns that I've tried. But after the AEP, it's much better. Single action feels a little better but it was always quite good on single action.

The short reset trigger does make the trigger reset noticeably shorter. It doesn't seem to make much difference for me since I don't usually do a lot of rapid fire, but it does what it's supposed to do, and I'll probably appreciate it more if I take some classes with more rapid fire.

The only thing I didn't like about the whole process was that they shipped it back without letting me know or sending a tracking number, so I wasn't able to be home to receive it and had to go pick it up at the shipping hub.

My customer service rep was Jason and the gunsmith was James.

It's pretty lame that my $1k gun even needed to be sent in, and I only got one mag with it when I bought it. So I still have some healthy SIG resentment. But in terms of customer service I'm happy. And as of now I'm very happy with the gun assuming it stays reliable through a few hundred more rounds.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

About me

Just a note about me:
In the articles I write, I take an authoritative tone for simplicity, but I don't want to give the impression that  I think I'm an authority.
I do not claim to be an expert in anything or to have any qualifications whatsoever.  Everything on this blog is a matter of my opinion which may or may not be worth anything.

The name jumpthestack comes from a technique(now long obsolete) in computer security for exploiting a stack buffer overflow vulnerability.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

AAR: LMS Defense one day carbine clinic

See
http://www.lmsdefense.com/lms/home/coursesbycategory/8
for more.

This review is for LMS Defense's one day carbine clinic which was taught by Todd Nielsen and took place at the Metcalf range in San Jose.

This course is intended as a basic introduction to carbine shooting.
We spent a lot of time zeroing the carbines, with both iron sights and optics.  He also covered:
- field stripping and cleaning an AR-15 (good tip: turn your charging handle upside down and use it as a tray to hold all the other little pieces that come out of the bolt carrier group)
- speed and tactical reloads,
- shooting and basic marksmanship while prone, kneeling, and standing,
- shooting up close and compensating for sight over bore offset.
- shooting while moving forward
- failure to stop drill; transitioning from shooting at the body to the head or pelvis

It was a good introductory class and I intend to try the Carbine 1 2-day course if I get a chance.

AAR: 2 day defensive pistol by Brian Normandy at Jackson Arms

See
http://jacksonarms.com/Classes.htm
for more.

This is a review of the 2 day pistol class at Jackson Arms in South San Francisco, CA.
The details aren't on the website but you can call the range for details, they have a variety of defensive shooting classes from time to time.

This course assumes you already know how to operate your weapon and that you know the basics of marksmanship.  Marksmanship wasn't really covered at all.   The course covered a wide variety of topics, including:
- drawing from the holster(you'd better yell Stop!) and reholstering(always reload very slowly in case you need to use the gun again for some reason, and also to prevent possible unintentional discharges).
- after action drill in which you sidestep, scan the area and check your six, and reholster slowly.
- legal issues related to shooting someone in self defense, taught by Brian's brother Alan, who is a LEO.
- shooting from very close contact range
- shooting around a barricade,  slicing the pie and rolling out
- night shooting with a flash light
- clearing malfunctions (and also notably what all the possible causes for each malfunction are, in order to better understand the weapon and how each cause is fixed).
- shooting while moving in a V-pattern
- shooting multiple targets quickly
- moving through hallways/doorways
- communication while shooting (for example asking for cover while reloading, acknowledging the request, and then signaling that you're ready)
- shooting while kneeling and prone
- Zombie Apocalypse drill (you'll have to take the class to find out about that one)

I found it to be a very interesting and worthwhile course.

AAR: Louis Awerbuck Yavapai Firearms Academy stage 1 and 2

See

http://www.reedsindoorrange.com/training.html
for more.

Louis Awerbuck is a nationally known firearms instructor who has been teaching for many years, including at Gunsite.
I took both the stage 1 and 2 classes at Reed's indoor range in Santa Clara CA.  Note: the curriculum for YFA handgun stage 1 and 2 are slightly different at Reed's than at other facilities.

Both classes require that you already own a firearm and a holster and mag pouch, and that you're familiar with its basic operation.  Note: for both classes you should either bring a lunch or have a plan to go somewhere in Santa Clara for lunch.  There is a one hour lunch break in the middle of the day.

The stage 1 one-day class focused mostly on marksmanship, with Awerbuck going into deep detail in the classroom, then diagnosing everybody's problems on the range.  His ability to see and correct people's mistakes is uncanny.   Near the end of the class, he had everybody shoot at a small ammo box from about 15 yards away, and everybody hit it or almost hit it within 2 shots.  One fundamental of shooting that he focuses on a lot that many people had a problem with is follow through and trigger reset.  When you shoot, you should pull the trigger fully to the rear and hold it there for a moment, and then slowly let it out until it retreats and no further, while keeping the sights aligned on target.    When people shoot and then take their finger off the trigger quickly, it can misalign the sights even though the bullet has no fully left the barrel.   This doesn't get emphasized enough by most instructors.   He went over safety, drawing from a holster and tactical reloads, but otherwise it was not really a 'tactical' or defensive course.  The description on Reed's site mentions coverage of handgun and use of force laws, but there wasn't really any of that.

The stage 2 class started with a review of safety and asking if anyone was having any shooting problems.  On the range, we warmed up with a review of the things that were covered in the first class until everyone was shooting satisfactorily.   Once that was done, they set up 3 dimensional curved paper targets, which changes the game somewhat.  For example, if the target is standing somewhat sideways to you, you don't want to shoot in the middle of the chest (between his nipples) because that will not damage as much tissue as hitting somewhere on the side of his body that's closest to you.  So in other words as the target turns, you need to hit at the center of the target relative to you, and not keep aiming at the same spot on the target.  The targets were also tilted from 45 to 90 degrees sideways, which again presented challenges in terms of deciding where to shoot on the target.

Later, shooting on the move was added, including moving sideways and forward and back.   Movement is important both to help make yourself harder to hit, and also to gain the best angle to hit the target with a stopping hit.
Finally, no-shoot targets were added.  Now movement was even more important in order to find the right angle to hit the target without hitting the no-shoot target, which could be in front of or behind the target.  
At the end there was a very cool drill while Awerbuck set up a set of mannequins that were moving on pulleys and you were supposed to head shot one of them without hitting the others.  Everybody was able to do it within 2 or 3 shots, and many within 1 shot.

During the class he also covered tactical reloads, speed reloads, shooting from kneeling and clearing malfunctions. 

Note: for both classes, students were allowed to pick up the brass off the range at the end of the class, which may be useful to know if you reload.   It would definitely also be useful to bring brass sorting trays since a lot of different calibers were being shot.

After completing the stage 2 course, you get a card which entitles you to shoot on the right hand side range at Reed's, which includes the privilege to shoot from the holster and to rapid fire.  I think you have to stay 'current' which means shooting there at least once a month.

Both classes were well worth while, and I would say especially the stage 1 is very worthwhile if you have any problems with your shooting.  The stage 2 was very good, but just make sure you understand what you're getting, which is an intermediate level shooting class.  Again I felt like there wasn't so much of defensive, gunfighting material.   I would say actually from the perspective of all-around defensive firearms training, the 2-day pistol class taught by Brian Normandy at Jackson Arms was a lot more well rounded.

AAR: Coyote Valley Clays "Experience Package"

See 
http://www.coyoteclays.com/Instruction.htm for more details.

Coyote Valley sporting clays in Morgan Hill CA has a very nice sporting clays facility, and I believe it's the only sporting clays facility in the Bay Area. (Sporting Clays refers to a specific sport, as opposed to trap or skeet).

The experience package is a relatively inexpensive package where if you get a group of 3 or more people, you can get one instructor per 5 people, 50 targets, 50 rounds of ammo, rental of a shotgun, and eye and ear protection.   It's a good way to get introduced to sporting clays.   You have to book it at least a week in advance, and I found that Saturdays are often unavailable, with Sundays and weekdays being available pretty reliably.

I did the experience package twice, with two different instructors.  Both times, the instructor got there late.  The instructors went briefly over safety and the operation of the shotgun.   They explained basically how to shoot the clays and what to look for, but I felt that they were not really 'instructors' so much as shooters who did not necessarily have a lot of experience teaching how to do it in a detailed way or diagnosing problems.  The first time I went, we used a 20 gauge over/under, and the second time we used a 12 gauge over/under.   They were selected by the instructor, so I guess it's up to the instructor's preference.  

At each station, they explained the trajectory of the clays and the basic strategy for hitting them, and we shot 10 rounds at each station, for 5 stations total.   Since the facility has 16 stations, you only get to hit 5 out of the 16, which is just enough to get a taste of it.

I feel like the instructors were not that good, but they were certainly adequate for just giving a basic idea of how it works and having a fun afternoon shooting.  I intend to try their full day seminar some time in the future.

AAR: Bill Tidwell NRA pistol and shotgun first steps classes

The first 2 firearms classes I ever took were NRA first steps pistol and NRA first steps shotgun taught by Bill Tidwell at Reed's Indoor Range in Santa Clara, CA.
See
http://train2besafe.com/courseschedule.html
and
http://www.reedsindoorrange.com/training.html
for more.

Both were pretty good.  Both assume no prior knowledge, and all gear such as eye/ear protection, guns and ammo are provided.  In both classes, they went over safety, basics of marksmanship (stance, grip, sight alignment and sight picture, trigger control, etc.)
In the pistol class they covered the operation of semi-auto pistols and revolvers.  On the second night of class there was live fire with Ruger MKIIIs and Smith and Wesson .22LR revolvers.  On the second night there was also the opportunity to take the California Handgun Safety Certificate test for an additional $25.

I highly recommend taking the optional third night class for the pistol class.  In that class you get a chance to shoot a wide variety of handguns in different calibers.  I vaguely recall at least:
Revolver in .38 special
.40 S&W Beretta 92
9mm Glock (I think model 19)
Walther PPK in .380 ACP
.45 ACP 1911
revolver in .44 Magnum

All the fundamentals of shooting were taught correctly, however I was having some problems with my trigger control which they were unable to fix(and which were later fixed in a Louis Awerbuck stage 1 handgun class which I'll review later).  So I would say that Bill and his helpers may not necessarily have the best ability to diagnose and correct shooting errors.

In the shotgun class we used pump action, semi-auto, over-under, side-by-side, and single shot break open shotguns, with buckshot, slugs, and mostly birdshot.   There were 12 and 20 gauge shotguns.  Due to the fact that I took the class at Reed's indoor range, it was all shooting at stationary paper targets, which doesn't help you much if you want to shoot flying clays, but is certainly useful for a basic understanding of operating a shotgun for home defense.   They do teach the same course in Livermore at a range with clays.  By the way, also check out Coyote Valley Sporting Clays if you want to try clay shooting.


Overall both classes were well worth the time and money, and a great way to try out shooting without needing to own any guns or shooting gear.  They satisfactorily answered any questions about choosing and buying guns, and legal issues, and covered safely storing and maintaining guns.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Sling vs no sling for home defense shotgun or carbine

A semi-common debate is whether or not one should attach a sling to one's home defense shotgun or rifle.

Sling pros:
You might need hands free to transition to a handgun, manipulate a flashlight or light switches on the wall, open or close doors, deal with children or other family members, or operate a phone or alarm panel.

If someone manages to grapple with you while you're slung it will make it harder for them to get the gun away from you, and you'll be able to use your hands to some degree to fight.


Sling cons:
The sling has the potential of snagging on things, and it takes some small amount of time to sling the weapon on your body.
Some would say it's not needed since home defense engagements tend to be short and you would want the gun in your hands the whole time anyways.
Adds cost, since you need to buy a sling and potentially mounting hardware.  This wouldn't apply if you would have bought a sling anyways for field / class use, just not for home defense.
Most slings will prevent you from easily transitioning the gun to your support side, e.g. if you wanted to go around a corner to the left.

Verdict:
Having a sling on a long gun for home defense is worthwhile.   A well adjusted sling should not snag on anything and should be very quick to put on your body.  The ability to use your hands without putting the gun may be tactically valuable for a number of reasons.  A sling on a long gun is equivalent to a holster for a handgun, except it's even more convenient because it stays attached to the gun.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

AR-15 cleaning tip

AR-15 cleaning tip:
After taking the charging handle out of the receiver, lay it on your bench and turn it upside down.  Use it as a tray for all the little pins and pieces from the bolt carrier group.   It's very handy because everything will fit inside it, and it's the first thing that comes out when you field strip, and the last thing that goes back in when you reassemble it.

Tactical shotgun: pistol grip stock vs standard stock

Pistol grip stock vs standard stock for tactical shotgun:

Note: Pistol grip stock means a stock that comes with a pistol grip.  I'm not talking about shotguns with a pistol grip only.   Those are not recommended because they are generally designed to be shot from the hip, are hard to shoot accurately, and put a lot of recoil in your hand.

Pistol grip stock pros:
Many of them are collapsible M4 style stocks with adjustable length of pull, making them easier to store, and making them easily adjustable for different shooters.
Some, like the Knoxx Spec-Ops stock have recoil reduction buffers.
If you shoot AR-15 / M-16 rifles or other rifles with a pistol grip, the ergonomics are similar.
You can keep your elbows lower and tighter with a pistol grip, which is safer for going around corners without getting your elbows shot off.   With a standard stock you have to have your firing arm's elbow cocked up like a chicken wing.

Standard stock pros:
With a Mossberg, it's a lot easier to manipulate the safety which is mounted at the top of the receiver.   If you have a pistol grip Mossberg, you have to release your firing grip to use your thumb to manipulate the safety. I do NOT like the pistol grip on a Mossberg, it makes manipulating the safety very slow and uncomfortable.
Generally sturdier with fewer pieces to break.
You can carry the shotgun held muzzle up in your hands(with a pistol grip stock, it's very uncomfortable to carry muzzle up).  Not sure how much of a pro this is since I think carrying muzzle up is a bad idea for safety reasons.
Less expensive.
You can hit someone with the buttstock easily(not that I think this is a good idea).  With a pistol grip stock it's pretty much impossible.

Overall I prefer the pistol grip stock, assuming a crossbolt safety(e.g. Remington 870).   If the gun has a tang mounted safety(e.g. Mossberg) then a standard stock is much preferred.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Glock vs Springfield XD

This debate has been done to death, but I'll give my thoughts.

Glock pros:
Better reputation for durable finish and reliability.  Note: The XD has been through some torture tests as well and is considered very durable and reliable as well.  The pre-2006 XDs used an inferior "Bruniral" finish, but now uses Melonite which is basically the same as the Glock's Tenifer finish.
Glock has a wider availability of aftermarket parts including holsters, sights, etc.  It's generally harder to find parts for the XD, as well as gunsmiths who know how to fix them, and most people probably just send it back to Springfield if something needs fixing.
Glocks generally weigh less than comparable XDs.
The Glock has a quite shorter trigger reset which means it's easier to shoot rapidly.  Note: The XD-M has a much improved trigger reset which is supposedly even shorter than the Glock's.  I haven't tried it yet.

XD pros:
It comes with a mag pouch, crappy holster and mag loading tool.  The holster and loading tool are pretty useless.  I found the holster to have way too tight retention even when the retention screw was totally backed out.  The loading tool was awkward to use and much slower than loading by hand or using the Uplula.  The mag pouch is okay, although the fact that it holds the mags in a V shape is ergonomically weird and probably not optimal.
The XD has a fully supported chamber, which means it's less likely to have a "kaboom" type issue, especially with overly hot reloads.  On the other hand, the Glock's less supported chamber supposedly reduces the chance of feeding failures.
The XD's barrel has traditional rifling, while the Glock's has polygonal rifling.  Shooting unjacketed lead bullets through a stock Glock barrel isn't recommended.
The XD comes with metal sights, while the Glock comes with plastic, less durable sights.   Note this doesn't apply if you are going to get night sights on your Glock anyways because the night sights are metal.   The XD uses metal magazines while the Glock uses plastic mags.  I don't think it necessarily matters but some might say the metal mags are more durable and more likely to drop free. 
The XD has a 1911-style grip angle, which many shooters prefer.
The XD grip is considered more comfortable by most people, including me.  The Glock grip is a bit wider and blockier.
The XD's trigger is a little crisper and less mushy.

The XD has a significant downside: the XD's slide can only be pulled back while the grip safety is depressed.  That means that certain one handed malfunction clearing maneuvers may be made more difficult.   It also means that if the grip safety mechanism breaks, there's a chance that the gun could be totally locked up, possibly with a live round in the chamber.

Debatable:
The XD has a grip safety, which some people like and some don't.  I like the grip safety in concept, but the issues mentioned above regarding pulling the slide back make the XD's implementation of the grip safety very unattractive, unlike on the 1911, where you can pull the slide back without depressing the grip safety.
The XD has a loaded chamber indicator and cocking indicator.   Note: Newer Glocks also have a LCI, and you can tell if it's cocked because the trigger is to the rear.
Both companies generally have excellent customer service.  I believe the Glock warranty is one year, but they will generally fix your gun for free at any time.  The XD's warranty is lifetime.  I believe neither company cares if you're the original buyer.

Note:
The XD-M, Ruger SR-9, and S&W M&P are all somewhat newer designs in the same class that are worth considering.  For example, they all have adjustable backstraps and none of them require dry firing to field strip.  I'm not very familiar with them, so we'll leave it at that.

Viking tactics (VTAC) 2 point sling vs Vickers Combat Application Sling (VCAS) 2 point sling.

I bought a VTAC sling a while ago, and I wanted to get another one but at this time pretty much every retailer seemed to be out of stock, so I purchased a VCAS.

I got the padded VCAS with acetal adjuster(which just means the buckles are made of plastic, which seems to be pretty tough).  It was 50$.  I wanted to get padding because my VTAC was chafing my neck a little bit when I used it for a carbine class while wearing just a T-shirt.  If you're wearing a vest or something, padding may be unnecessary, but I think it's worth it.   It's also more comfortable if you're using a heavier long gun like a shotgun or a bigger rifle.  A potential downside to the padding is that you can't adjust the length of the sling as much since the padded part of the sling can't be adjusted.

I like both of them pretty well and I don't regret buying either.

VTAC pros:
I feel that the quick-adjust works smoother, with a little less friction, especially in the 'tightening' direction.
The VTAC's quick-adjust portion is longer which means the quick-adjust can make more difference. The VTAC can be quick-adjusted much tighter than the VCAS can.
Depending on where you buy, but the VTAC will generally be a little less expensive than the VCAS for comparable models.

VCAS pros:
The VTAC has a tail which sort of dangles.  You can tuck it into a little sleeve up to a certain point.  The VCAS does not have a dangling tail.  The tail on the VTAC doesn't really bother me anyways.
The VCAS uses the same pull tab for both tightening and loosening the sling.   The VTAC uses 2 separate pull points, which is a little more complicated.

Debatable:
The VCAS is longer.   This means that it can fit more comfortably over armor and will be more comfortable for a longer barreled gun.  That said, it also means when wearing no armor, and using a shorter barrel M4-style rifle, it can feel a little loose, especially if you attach it on the receiver as opposed to at the very front and back of the gun.   The VCAS is designed so that even on its tightest setting you can still shoulder and aim it.   The VTAC, on its tightest setting will be held very tightly to your body, too close to shoulder it, which also makes it more secure.

Were I to buy either of them now, I would get the padded version, which really makes a difference in comfort for all day carry during a carbine class(or real world use but I wouldn't know about that).

2011 update: The more I think about it, the more I think the VCAS has an edge.  The fact that you only have one pull tab makes things a lot simpler.  The fact that it won't go so tight that you can't shoulder it makes it simpler, since in any given situation if you were surprised you could still shoulder the gun and fire it.  Securing it very tight is not that necessary in most situations that I would personally be in.  Also the dangling tail on the VTAC adds more complication and the potential that it might go somewhere it's not supposed to.  I read about a few people having it go up in the mag well during reloads.  The velcro keeper can mitigate that somewhat, but now you have yet another gizmo to mess around with on it.

All this being said I'm now mostly a fan of single points for ARs.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Safariland 6377 holster for Sig P220R

I really like the Safariland 6377 for Sig P220R.  Note that there are different models for the railed and non-railed versions of the P220.  It's a belt holster that has an active retention lock.  It's comparable to the Blackhawk Serpa, but it's (IMO) better because the release button is activated by the thumb rather than the trigger finger.   So there's arguably a smaller chance of having a negligent discharge, and I find after a little practice, drawing is very smooth and just as fast as an open top holster with no retention.

The lock seems very secure.  I tried pulling very hard on the grip of the gun but I couldn't get it to come out, or anything to break.  A notable feature is that the inside of the holster is suede lined to ease wear on the gun.

The holster sits comfortably on the belt and is fairly low profile as far as outside the waistband holsters go.  It
would conceal well with a jacket or vest, but not with anything less.  Note: the model 6378 is the same thing but as a paddle holster rather than a belt holster.   The paddle would make it stick out a little more, but may be more comfortable and presumably allows for easy on/off(I haven't actually seen it but generally paddle holsters have that option.

Thumbs up for a comfortable and secure range or open carry holster.