Gun: Holsters

Holsters

Originally this was going to be a post about holsters in general.  There are enough good posts out there that can give you a 10 page run down on any holster ever made.  I could cover all that again but felt that since these other guys had done such a good job already I wouldn't step on their toes.  I decided to just give you my opinion on the different methods.

Hip Carry

As a small guy I don't like the hip carry for concealed carry.  My big problem is that this has to have a jacket or sweatshirt worn over it to cover up the weapon.  No, its not a problem to add a sweatshirt or jacket to what your wearing, my problem is that you can't take the sweatshirt or jacket off without exposing your piece.  Hip carry however does have one big advantage... Speed.  Hip carry is without a doubt the quickest to draw.  This is how I carry my gun at the range, for simple ease of access.  My choice for the range is a simple pancake holster.  It is a versatile enough holster to at least loosely hold any of the guns I own right on my hip.  Speed and Ease of Access are the two big reasons this is how the police carry their guns.  Additionally, in a "Going to War" situation or "Zombie Apocalypse" as some call it, If your not trying to hide it this is the way to go.  I actually prefer this over a thigh drop holster for those situations because with the drop holster you lose a one pocket or with cargo pants both a side pocket and a thigh cargo pocket.  My favorite for open "war" carry is the Blackhawk Serpa holster which can be fitted for a pistol with a light/laser attached.  The Serpa has a custom molded fit to your gun with a retention button that is easily disengaged by the shooter.  With the retention system of the Serpa it can be used as hip, leg or vest holster.  For concealment on the hip I would choose a Raven Concealment holster.  I have heard nothing but good about these close to body kydex holsters.

Shoulder Carry

Not a fan.  For FBI and Detectives.  Again needs a jacket to cover the weapon.  Other than having to get the gun off your belt I don't like this style.  The advantage here is that you can carry even a huge weapon like a Desert Eagle concealed if you use a vertical rig.  In the "War" situation getting your gun off your belt gives you more room for ammo.

Small of Back

My favorite.  With little more than a light t shirt this is the easiest way for me to carry.  I will admit that with a jacket this is easily concealed.  However with heavy t-shirt untucked I feel you can still conceal in this position after you take off your jacket.  Just my opinion, I'm sure it can be debated but thats how I like it.  My favorite is a
left-handed In the Waist Band (IWB) in the small of my back.  Conceals real easy and its not too uncomfortable.

Car: Ford Ranger

Ford Ranger (need a good picture of my truck... coming soon)

I used to drive a Red 2000 2.4 liter Nissan Frontier King Cab XE.  I loved that truck.  It did what I needed it to.  It was a truck and it got me where I needed to go.  I basically learned how to drive stick on that truck and anybody I knew who asked me if I could teach them how to drive stick got hands on experience with that truck.  As I used to say, "Just drive it, and don't worry anything you do I have already done."

There is apparently a factory defect in the standard transmission that was in my Nissan.  One of the "cluster packs" in my transmission disintegrated and destroyed the rest of the transmission.  That left me without a vehicle.     

When I started looking for a new vehicle I had already decided, although I would like a car to autocross, I needed a truck to get me around first.  At first I looked into newer Nissan with a similar package to the one I had.  I decided against this because of a number of minor things that were starting wrong, and of course the transmission, on my 2000.  I decided I wanted more power so if I needed to tow something I could.  This ruled out anything with a 4 cylinder.  So my initial considerations were the Ranger, Dodge Dakota, Toyota Tacoma, and Chevy Colorado.  I ruled out the Colorado because many of the people I know who had S-10s and then Colorados were unsatisfied.  The trucks just seemed to have minor problems that became a thorn in the side.

I also wanted a truck with not too much mileage on it that I was going to have to worry immediately about not the drivetrain but other body problems.  This made me rule out the Tacoma because I was unable to find any in my price range with less than 100-120 thousand miles.  The engines and transmission in them were still good but they made me worry about other things going wrong.

Next I was able to rule out the Dakota because even the Rams little brother/lighter duty Dakota had no engine smaller than a V8.  This was a question to me because although not a large truck the gas mileage would be no better than a full size.

This left me search pretty much for a Ranger that I liked.  However I was done searching yet.  It still took me sometime to find EVERYTHING I wanted in the truck with low enough mileage.  I had decided that no matter what truck I would get it had to have a least a 6 cylinder engine, extended cab, manual transmission, 4 wheel drive, and have less than 60 thousand miles.

I was eventually able to find that in my present truck 2 hours away from my house in Altoona.  And boy did it all look good when it went together.  The truck I found and now call my own is a 2004 Sonic Blue Ford Ranger XLT extended cab with a lift kit and offroad tires.

There are a few upgrades I want to do to my truck.  First, I would like to put a K/N cone filter in my truck to replace the standard air filter.  These filters are less restrictive allowing more air into your engine to combust better and get better fuel mileage at low throttle and more horsepower at high throttle.  I am also thinking about putting a tow package on it.  Obviously, my Ranger did not come with a factory towing setup.  I found out from a neighbor that the hitch that attaches to the frame for a tow package can be purchased at Advance Auto along with a few other places for a very reasonable $125.  The one built for the Ranger actually requires no cutting and only a few bolts to attach the hitch to the frame.  All of this can be done in the comfort of your own garage.  The only real problem with the two package is if you are trying to haul a really large trailer that needs electric to work the brakes and lights.  It can be done but I may need some help with this because I am not very good at wiring.  Once I've seen it I could probably pull it off but right now I don't know exactly how it would go together.

Thinking about a new car?

Someone sent this to me and I thought it was interesting

Can you imagine having the same car for 82 years?
["Mr. Allen Swift of Springfield Massachusetts received this 1928 Rolls-Royce Picadilly P1 Roadster from his father, brand new, as a graduation gift in 1928.

He drove it up until his death last year, at age 102!  He was the oldest living owner of a car from new.  He donated it to a Springfield museum after his death.  It had a 170,000 miles on it but still runs like a finely tuned Swiss watch. It is dead silent at any speed and is in perfect cosmetic shape.
That works out to about 2000 miles per year."]

Hope you all like this. I was impressed and amazed when I received this in an email.

Gun: Springfield GI Champion

Springfield Armory GI Champion (.45ACP)

Specifications from the manufacturer:
Barrel Length: 4 inches
Capacity: 7 rounds
Sights: fixed box rear and blade front

As promised, my baby, my Springfield Armory GI Champion.  This is the somewhat little brother of the well know 1911A1.  It has a 4 in. instead of the standard 5 in. barrel 1911s are known for.  The grip, however, is still full size. Meaning, although it has a shortened barrel the GI Champion will still accept just about standard 1911 mag. 

 There are a lot of options when youre in the market for a 1911.  Size, hammer type,beavertail safety types and trigger style to name a few.  I choose Springfield because of 2 things. 1. Its history, Springfield Armory being a major provider of the weapons carried by our troops in World War II.  I seem to watch a lot of WWII stuff.  2. I choose Springfield for price. Springfield Armory produces a wide variety of 1911s for a resonably low price.  Some people like Kimbers Custom Pistols.  My opinion... Kimbers are very nice guns but they are also expensive.  I choose the GI for its simplicity.  The Springfield Armory GI series is designed to appear just like the actual Colt and Springfield 1911s of WWII.  The GI series has a standard spur hammer, a stripped down trigger and a smoothed beaver tail safety.  The GI series also have a parkerized finish and kind of a matte like finish.  similar to the rough finish on a shotgun.  Other 1911s have combinations of the following, Skeletonized hammer, skeleton or match trigger, extended beaver tail and hand guard, and come in nickel or black finish. 
I actually have 3 different magazines for my Springfield.  I have the 1 Springfield 7-round mag. that came with it, 1 7-round Kimber mag. and 1 ProMag 8-round mag.  I bought the Kimber mag. at the same time I bought the gun because I like to have atleast 2 magazines, if for no other reason, simply to make shooting and reloading at the range faster and easier.  I ended up buying the 8-round ProMag a few weeks later because I have a 2 mag. carrier that came in the box with the gun.

When I bought the ProMag I started carrying that in the gun because it gave me an 8th round.  I have since decided that I like the way the standard mag. fits flush with the bottom of the gun better and have resigned the ProMag 8-rounder to my carrier for range use.

On the issue of Concealed Carry some people feel that spare mags. are necessary to be carried at all times.  Personally it is easier to just carry the gun in a holster without the hassle of trying to decide how and where you want to put your extra mags.  My opinion is if the gun itself doesn't deescalate the conflict it really isn't going to matter if you have spare ammunition.  You have a bigger problem that a few more rounds probably won't fix.

In the packaging with the pistol was also a tension holster that seems to be standard with the purchase of a Springfield pistol.  It is a pretty nice holster for hip carry or to stow your empty weapon at the range.

I like a standard pancake belt holster for versatility on the range better.  The holster I have for my 229, a Goodrich and Gould black leather Pancake holster, seems to be able to hold just about any of my guns, somewhat loose but still on your person comfortably for the range.  I would not carry a gun in a holster not intended for it for concealed carry, but I think this setup is fine for on the range.

My favorite holster for concealing the Springfield is a Desantis Small of the Back in black leather.  I am however, still getting used to the Desantis holster.  my standard pancake has a snap and strap to secure the weapon.  the Desantis Small of the Back does not have the security strap but instead a tension bolt similar to the polymer tension holster I got with the gun.  It does hold the gun secure, but, probably just being paranoid again, I feel like the .45 might fall out.  It won't, I've checked.  Just seems odd without the security strap and snap. 

Seeing as I digressed quite a bit there on holsters I should probably do a post on what I'm talking about soon.  So I guess in the near future I will do a basic run down, with pics for the visual minded, of a few of the different holster I have come in contact with.

Gun: Beretta Brigadier 96D

Beretta Brigadier 96D
PSP issue .40
(Not an actual picture of my gun, although identical, mine is in better shape)

Specifications from the manufacturer:

Barrel Length: 5 inches
Capacity: 11 rounds
Sights: Trijicon Night Sights
Action: DAO

This is one of the second generation Berettas carried by the Pennsylvania State Police.  It is the 96D (Double Action Only) Brigadier.  Personally  I like the look of the Brigadier over the standard 92/96.  Additonally this is one of my favorite guns because of its simplicity.  I am not a fan of, as Marshal Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones in U. S. Marshals) puts it, the "Nickel plated sissy pistols".  I prefer a flat black or parkerized low shine finish on my guns.

As far as I know the only difference between a Brigadier and standard 96 is the bolstered slide with added frame support just in front of the feed ramp.  I heard somewhere this was done to prevent the limited occurance of cracked slides due to the open barrel design.  Additionally the 96D is different from the standard 96 by the removal of the manual safety.  The 96D does still have the integral Beretta safeties to prevent misfires and accidental discharges from drops. 

The two biggest standout of the PSP 96D are the Trijicon night sight in place of the standard Beretta sights and the PSP engraved patch on the frame. 

Despite the long double action pull of every shot I still shoot this gun rather well.  Although as a small guy I have trouble concealing the large frame Beretta, I have carried this a few times.  Usually kept for home defense because I am thoroughly impressed with the sight picture of the night sights for low light and darkened areas.  I really enjoy the performance of this pistol and fire it heavily as a target pistol at the range.

Gun: Sig Sauer P229

Sig Sauer P229(R) .40 Caliber
Specifications from manufacturer

Barrel Length: 3.9 inches
Capacity: 12 rounds
Sights: Standard front blade rear notch
Action: DA/SA

The Sig Sauer 229 is the first pistol I bought.  I bought it to have a weapon to improve my shooting skills.  At the time I was attempting to get an armed security position at an institution that carries Glock 22 .40s.

At the time I was not personally a fan of Glocks.  Glocks are well built, very dependable, generally great guns.  Just never been a fan.  Personal preference for grip angle and weight.  I am presently reevaluation this decision.

I decided I needed a pistol that would have a resonable number of rounds with a semi-shortened barrel so I could concealed carry the weapon.  I have a Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearms (Concealed Carry Permit).

My other options were the Glock 23, HK USP Compact, and Sig Sauer 229.  These 3 were primarily options because of their notoriety.  I knew about the Glock 23 because of the guys I worked with carrying the shorter 23 in place of the 22s they  carried on duty.  The USP Compact is carried by Jack Bauer on 24.  The Sig 228, the previous generation of the 229 if you will, is carried but many of the agents on  NCIS, NCIS LA and also by Michael Weston of Burn Notice.  However the 228 is only available in 9mm while the 229 is chambered for 9mm, .40 Smith and Wesson, and .357 Sig. 

As previously mentioned I was not a fan of the Glock, so that was out.  My other thought, the HK USP in .40 was hard to find.  I choose the 229 because I was able to find one at what I thought was a good price with a nice package.  The package I intended to buy was the 229R (Rail) which is now standard with SigNite Sights and 3 spare magazines.  I was unable to buy the pistol there because it was a Law Enforcement package and I am not an active duty Law Enforcement officer.  Understandable but still not what I wanted to hear.  So I ended up purchasing my 229 with the rail, standard sights and 1 magazine, no spares, for more money.

If I were to do it again I would probably shop around more and Definitely make sure to get the SigLite night sights.  I real prefer the night sights for low light and dark target acquisition.  It was actually on a Beretta but the Trijicons on it made a huge difference for me.

I am not a good shot but I shoot a lot.  A few of my friends who shoot with me have shown that my 229 is accurate.  It shoots great.  Not exactly sure what it is, but I just love the way the gun shoots.  the Double Action/Single Action standard is nice.  Concentration and practicing skills the single action is very nice.  The hammer drop, mentioned in the next paragraph, lets you shoot ever shot double action for a consistant pull every time. 

In my opinion the Sigs are great guns.  There a few things that make it stand out to me.  First of all, the hammer drop in place of a manual safety.  Lets the operator drop the hammer safely after firing a round.  Manually trying to decock a fire arm is tricky and dangerous because you can slip on the hammer and have an accidental discharge.  The hammer decock allows you to depress the lever and the hammer lowers to a safe position to be carried.  Second, disassembly is a breeze.  I may have only had to strip and clean a few weapons but of the pistols I have cleaned the Sig is the easiest.  No tools are needed to disassemble or reassemble it and it is very simple to take apart.

the standard Sigs, (220 226 229 etc.), all have the same characteristics for disassembly, controls and trigger pressure.  The Sig 1911 is not included in this because although a Sig, as far as I understand it, does not share many of the Sig standard characteristics but instead those of various brands of 1911s.

I am currently thinking about buying another Sig.  This time the full size P226 in .40.  I no longer have the need to the carry the 229 concealed as I have a shortened Springfield .45 which I prefer as my carry gun.  I am looking for the 226 mainly as a target pistol and maybe for home defense.  Definitely will wait to find a model with the SigLite night sights.  Haven't decided yet whether I want the light rail or not.  May be nice just to have the option of adding a light if I come across one in the near future.  Hopefully I will be able to improve my shooting skills with the improved 226.  It will be an excellent target pistol because of the shared characteristics of the 229 that I already love in additon to an extended 4.4 inch vs the 229s 3.9 inch barrel for a little more accuracy.

I will have to look into it but I am wondering if I can just outfit a 226 slide and barrel on the 229 frame as they are the same caliber and the frames are very similar.  I just like the way the mag recesses into the grip of the 229 better than 226s semi flush mag.  I feel the same way about my Springfield and the 7 vs 8 round mag. to be mentioned in my post on the Springfield Armory GI Champion in the near future.

Movie: Due Date

Due Date

I saw the newly released movie, Due Date, this weekend.  I went to see it because it was directed by the same person who directed Old School and the Hangover. Both of which I absolutely loved.

However, Due Date, did not shine.  It did have its funny parts but it also had slow parts.  I was excited to see what Zach Galifiankis would do as quasi Alan.  Not impressed.  Much the same character as Alan in Hangover but stuck in a car going cross country.  The Chemistry between Downey and Galifiankis was not bad and was believable.  Biggest problem with the movie was it pretty much went back and forth with Galifiankis would do something stupid and end up injuring Downey at which point Downey would thereaten to kill or maim Galifiankis on the next stunt.  

I'd give the movie a 5 out of 10. Had funny parts but the slow parts dragged it down and just could have been funnier.

Movie: Killers

Killers

The movie, Killers, just came out on DVD recently.  I had not seen it in theaters but still thought it looked good/funny.  I ended up renting it the other day because I had a coupon for red box that was about to run out.  I didn’t end up seeing for until 3 days later, so, on a free movie coupon it ended up costing me two bucks.

I thought the movie was quite awesome.  I do not dislike Ashton Kutcher as an actor but on the other hand I don’t go out of my way to go see every movie he makes the night it comes out. That being said, he did a very good job of playing a former assassin/contractor turned contractor/builder.  Catherine Heigl played her usual over worked female lead. No big surprise performance.  No real let down.  However, Tom Selleck, with fantastic mustache in tow, playing Heigl’s father was fantastic. 

The movie ended with a surprise twist and was well done.  I would give it an 8 out of 10.  Kutcher and Heigl have good chemistry as love interests/lovers/married couple.  And of course when trouble hits they bicker lovingly and sell it.  Catheryn O’Hara did fine with her alcohol mother impression.  Tom Selleck again shined as Heigl’s Father Mr. Kornfeldt.  The chemistry between Selleck and Kutcher was very believable as Father-in-law to son-in-law awkwardness/hostility.  The two meshed well to make the movie believable.