Wheel Guns are Real Guns
In this era of double-stack polymer nines, it is easy to overlook revolvers as archaic and out of date. However, I believe anyone carrying a firearm for a living should, at the very least, be a student of weapons craft when it comes to revolvers. Even if you have already weighed the pros and cons of carrying a revolver and decided it was not a good choice for you or your needs, you should know [...]
Springfield’s Prodigy – Part 1
Suppose the emergence and growth of double stack, single action, 9mm 2011 pistols did not get everyone's attention during the last few years. In that case, I'd imagine Springfield's release of the Prodigy – a double stack, single action, 9mm 1911 (their words) should have gotten to the last few [...]
Knowing And Evolving From Our Foundations
With the amount of available information on the internet in various forms, including short-form social media posts, it’s easy to forget that printed books exist. And as the editor of an online magazine, I am aware of the irony. We all can read more. There are several good books out [...]
D&L Sports S&W revolver sights
Dave Lauck is the proprietor of D&L Sports, Incorporated- a shop offering complete gunsmithing services. Dave’s a retired lawman and a patriot; he thrives on providing the highest quality firearms and gunsmithing work for those serving at the tip of the Military/L.E. spear. Dave now hangs his shingle in Chino [...]
Failure to extract – when tap, roll, rack does not work
Tap, roll, rack, and assess should – I emphasize should – clear many of the stoppages you are likely to have with a quality semi-auto pistol. What happens when that technique does not work? What part of the eight-step function cycle for a semi-auto pistol (or rifle, or shotgun) have [...]
Pistol Malfunctions and Stoppages – Part 1
Pistols, like any other manufactured and mechanical object, can fail. And they can stop working when you least want them to. Those failures will happen because the function cycle is interrupted. What’s the function cycle? Feed, Chamber, Lock, Fire, Unlock, Extract, Eject, and Cock. This cycle happens with every semi-auto [...]
Armed Women of America – Not An Ordinary Saturday Morning
Training is, obviously, a good thing. And for several reasons. More competent and safer end users are out there; that is the biggest. Training also increases the number of favorable and knowledgeable individuals in the general jury pool. Whether those who are trained do or do not make it into [...]
Considering the 9mm Revolver
When choosing a small to medium-sized defensive revolver caliber, most people automatically default to the .38 Special or .357 Magnum chambering. There are good reasons to take a hard look at the 9mm Luger for this role. One of the biggest positives is the efficiency of the cartridge in short-barreled [...]
Options for Mounting Your Red Dot Sight
If you've missed it, pistol-mounted optics (PMO), also known as red dots, are "here," they are staying; they are not going away. So, how do you put one – or more – on your pistol(s)? There are several ways to mount that dot. Some work with a stock slide, then [...]
Working the Thumb Safety for new 1911/2011 Shooters
It has been interesting to watch the re-invention of STI into Staccato and, simultaneously, see the resurrection of a 1911-style pistol into the police duty-use world. I used a 1911 pistol on patrol and in investigations for over twenty years. I carried, competed, and taught with one. And I did [...]
Two Is One – why officers need a backup gun
Carrying a backup firearm while on duty is not as popular as I believe it should be. I am the only Constable (in a 13-officer agency) carrying a backup gun (BUG) on duty. Let us look at the pros, cons, and options available for backup gun carry. Some reasons for [...]