Miwall .45ACP 230gr TMJ Reloaded Ammo Review

The ammo is made with mixed brass, and is packed loose in the 30-caliber ammocan as shown in the picture on the Outdoor Marksman website.

The one cartridge that stuck in the barrel of my Glock was a bit unnerving, but it fired okay once I got it all the way in the chamber, and the brass extracted fine. No problems with the other 499 rounds. Accuracy is on par with Winchester white box and Remington UMC.

I would buy this ammo again if I hadn't gotten into reloading myself.

Reviews

Airguns
Benjamin Sheridan Marauder Pre-Charged Pneumatic Rifle
Benjamin Sheridan Marauder PCP Rifle, Part 2
Marui Airsoft Blow-Back Glock 17

AKs
Ok, No More AK Recoil Buffers For Me
TWS Gen.II AK Scope Mount
Ultimak AK Gas Tube Scope Mount

Ammo
Miwall .45ACP 230gr TMJ Reloaded Ammo
Miwall 9mm 115gr Reloaded Ammo
More Tula .223Rem Fail
TulAmmo .223Rem Fail

AR-15
Endine AR-Restor Carbine Hydraulic Buffer
Lancer L5 AR-15 Magazine - Thumbs Down
Magpul Art of the Tactical Carbine I DVDs
Midwest Industries T12 Free-Float Handguard
Palmetto State Armory Pigsticker Compensator
PSA Pigsticker and Rainier XTC Comp Update
Troy Battlemag

Books
Combat Handgunnery, ed. 5 & 6
Competition Shooting Books and DVDs
- Practical Shooting: Beyond Fundamentals
- Burkett Videos 1-3
- Burkett Video 4
- Burkett Practical Shooting Manual
- Thinking Practical Shooting
- Refinement and Repetition
- Principles of Performance
- Perfect Practice
Green Eyes and Black Rifles
Steven Hunter's Point Of Impact
Surgical Speed Shooting
The Glock In Competition

Firearms
Bushmaster ACR Review, Part 1
Bushmaster ACR Review, Part 2
Bushmaster ACR Review, Part 3
Colt Official Police Revolver
Kel-Tec P-3AT .380ACP Pistol
Quick Bushmaster ACR Update
Ruger LCP .380ACP Pocket Pistol
Short Kahr PM9 Review
Smith & Wesson M&P9
Bought A Smith & Wesson M&P 9 Pro
XD40 Service Model

Holsters
Crossbreed Holster Finally Broke
Crossbreed Super-Tuck Part 2
Crossbreed Super-Tuck Part 3
Crossbreed Super-Tuck Part 4
Desantis Nemesis Pocket Holster
Fobus Roto Paddle Holster
Good, Inexpensive Kydex Mag Pouches
Some Random Concealment Holster Reviews
- IWB Carry In General
- Uncle Mike's Nylon Clip-On IWB
- SideArmor Kydex IWB
- Fist Leather #19A IWB
- Gould & Goodrich Leather Belt Holster
- Glock Sport/Combat Holster
- Crossbreed Super-Tuck Part 1
- Uncle Mike's Nylon Pocket Holster
- Galco Ultimate Second Amendment (USA) IWB holster
Uncle Mike's Kydex Belt Holster w/Thumb-Break
Uncle Mike's Kydex Paddle Holster
Weapon Lights and Related Holsters

Optics
Carver Hunter Scope Mount For Glock
Lone Wolf and Burris FastFire Mini Red Dot Sights
Millet DMS-1 1-4x Scope
Primary Arms Red Dot Sights
Tasco PDP2 Red Dot Scope
TWS Gen.II AK Scope Mount
Ultimak AK Gas Tube Scope Mount

Magazines
Lancer L5 AR-15 Magazine - Thumbs Down
Magazine Update: Korean Glock and AR-15
Troy Battlemag

Miscellaneous
1911s for Duty. Eeek!
Cerakote After 4 Weeks
Lauer Durabake Paint
Like AC/DC? Check Out Airborne!
Marui Airsoft Blow-Back Glock 17
Movie Review: El Mariachi
Safety: Eyes and Ears

Parts And Accessories
Advantage Arms Full-Size Glock .22lr Conversion
JP Glock Magazine Funnel
Lancer L5 AR-15 Magazine - Thumbs Down
LPA Adjustable Glock Sight Set
Lone Wolf 3.5 Pound Connector
Ok, No More AK Recoil Buffers For Me
Palmetto State Armory Pigsticker Compensator
PSA Pigsticker and Rainier XTC Comp Update
Scherer Plastic Slug Plug
Streamlight TLR-1 Weapons Light
Weapon Lights and Related Holsters

Reloading
Alliant Blue Dot Powder
Cabela's/Berry's Tumbler
Hogdon HS-6/Winchester 540 Powder
Hodgdon TiteGroup Powder
Hodgdon TiteGroup Powder Update
Lee Auto Prime Hand Priming Tool
Lee Carbide Die Set
Lee Pacesetter .223Rem Dies

RIS/RAS Picatinny Accessories
Midwest Industries MCTAR-08HD Front Sling Swivel
TangoDown QD Vertical Foregrip
Vltor Scout Light Mount
Yankee Hill Lightweight Free Float Handguard
Yankee Hill QDS Folding Front Sight

Articles

1911 Build
1911 Barrel, Minus 1/3 Rifling - 2.04" Group at 35 Yards
1911 Build Has Started, I Guess
Snag
Frame Ordered
Picked Up The Caspian Frame
1911 Build Progress
1911 Build Weekend Update
1911 Build Weekend Update II
1911 Build This Week
1911 Build: Getting Close To Test Fire
1911 Build: EGW Order Came In
1911 Build: It Works!!
1911 Build: Parts List
1911 Build: Adjustable Sight Installed

Ammo
How Much Ammo Is Too Much?
More Tula .223Rem Fail
Running Steel-Cased Ammo in an AR-15
TulAmmo .223Rem Fail

AKs
Attero Arms AK Mount - $75, Co-Witness With Micro Red Dot
DefCAD - 3D Printable AK-47 Magazine
Easy and Cheap DIY AK Safety Mod
Tapco AK G2 Trigger Recall

AR-15
"Crane" Extractor O-Rings - $9/100
Crosman MAR177 AR-15 PCP Pellet Rifle
AR15.com Forum - Magazine Torture Test
AR-15 5.45mm Magazine Guide - for AK-74 surplus ammo
AR-15 Lowers - What's the difference between them? Who makes them?
AR-15 Lube Points
AR-15 Magazines - What's good? What's bad? Magazine loaders and followers.
Magazine Update; Korean Glock and AR-15
More Magpul AR-15 Lowers In The Works?
Not All AR Parts ARe Created Equal
PMag Coupler = 50 or 60 Round AR-15 Magazine
Reflections on SBR Laws and AR Pron
Running Steel-Cased Ammo in an AR-15
Safir Arms .410 Bore AR-15 Shotgun Upper
Semi-semiautomatic AR-15
Tuning 5.45mm AR-15 Magazines

Competition
I Won!  Sort of. . .
Minor Loads for Competition
New IDPA Rulebook in the Works
Stop Plates and Pact Mk.IV Timer
Woo Hoo!  2nd Place in Action Match With Irons.

Concealed Carry
Custom Pocket Holster
How Much Ammo is "Too Much"
John Farnham on "Convenient Fallacy"
I Don't Carry a Gun. . .
Making Kydex Holsters
My Crossbreed Holster Finally Broke
Pennsylvania Attorney General Closes "Florida Loophole"

Coupons and Deals
Free NRA Membership From Guns/Handgunner Magazines
Midway Coupon Codes

Customer Service
Thank You Precision Reflex, Inc. (PRI)

"Evil Black Rifles"
Alex Robinson Comments Re: XCR Rifles & Customer Service
Associated Press, M4 Carbine Replacements Videos
Another Ruger Black Rifle - SR22 Rifle
Best. . . Para TTR. . . Article. . . Ever 8P
Bushmaster ACR Reviews on AR15.com
Bushmaster Dropped A Bomb At The SHOT Show
Civilian ACR/Masada Coming Soon?
Cleaning Mags That Don't Disassemble
Converting SKS rifles to take AK-47 Magazines
Couple More From Forgotten Weapons
HERA Arms Glock Stock/Carbine Conversion
How to Make Home-Made Bump-Fire Stock
Kel-Tec SU-16/SU-22 Pistol Grip and AR Stock Adapter
Lancer L5 AR-15 Mags. Thumbs Down
Low-Power Variable Scope Vs. Red Dot
Make Your Own Tactical Sling for $10 (Or Less)
My Feinstein Ban, "Oh Shit!" Emergency Letter
New Kel-Tec .308Win RFB Bullpup Rifle
New Steyr AUGs Available
Remington Rimfire Black Rifle: 597 VTR
Report On Military FN SCAR Rifles
Saiga Pistol Grip Conversion: Saiga 12 Shotgun
Thureon Defense 9mm Carbine
Worst. Gun. Review. Ever.

Glocks
.50G.I. Conversion for Glock 20/21
2010 Glock Annual Magazine Is Out
Broken Glock Locking Block Story
Glocks and Unsupported Chambers - 9mm and .45ACP vs. 40S&W
Glock Maritime Spring Cups & Underwater Ballistics
Glocks With Factory Thumb Safety
HERA Arms Glock Stock/Carbine Conversion
Lone Wolf to Produce Aftermarket Polymer Glock Frames
Lone Wolf Glock Frame Available. . . Finally
Magazine Update; Korean Glock and AR-15
The Opposite of No-Glare
Rumor - Glocks With Adjustable Grips
Some Glock Trigger Pull Weights
Why The Fuss About Plastic Pistols?

Gun Cleaning/Maintenance
AR-15 Lube Points
Cleaning Mags That Don't Disassemble
Cleaning, My Way
Lubricants For Firearms

Gunsmithing
1911 Build Index
AGI Video: (Really) Excessive Headspace
AGI Video: The Savage Accu-Trigger
Easy and Cheap DIY AK Safety Mod
FAL Last-Round-Bolt-Hold-Open Mod
Converting SKS Rifles To Take AK-47 Magazines
How To Make a Magazine Lip Tool
Ruger 10/22 Tuning and Mods
Saiga Pistol Grip Conversion: Saiga 12 Shotgun
The Opposite of No-Glare
Tuning 5.45mm AR-15 Magazines
VLTOR CASV-EL Handguards on a Kel-Tec PLR-16

How-To/DIY
Custom Pocket Holster
DIY Shoot-N-See Type Targets
Follow Up On Custom Pocket Holster
Making Kydex Holsters
VLTOR CASV-EL Handguards on a Kel-Tec PLR-16

Miscellaneous
Admiral Mas Ayoob?
Ares 22RCU - Ruger Mk.I, Mk.II, Mk.III, 22/45 Carbine Conversion
Bar-Sto Is Moving Out Of Commifornia
Bought a Smith & Wesson M&P 9 Pro
Brownells To Help American Cancer Society
Cheaper Than Dirt! Buy-A-Gun Feature
Great Jeff Cooper Quote: "The Rifle is a Weapon."
Handgun Drills
How Much Ammo Is Too Much?
I Don't Carry A Gun. . .
Jack Weaver Passed Away
Madison Rising - Check Them Out!!
Random Silliness: Designer Guns
Sights for Defense Pistols
Some Gun Porn
Stop Plates and Pact Mk.IV Timer
The Good and Bad of the Last Few Months
V8 Powered Bar Stool
Virtual Arsenal On Mythbusters

Music
fxhummel1 Biblical Self-Defense Song
Madison Rising - Check Them Out!!

NFA (National Firearms Act - Machineguns, SBR, SBS, AOW)
Couple More From Forgotten Weapons
Nobody's Going After THEIR Guns?! (Gangster Gun Pr0n)
Reflections on SBR Laws and AR Pron

New Guns And Gear
.223 Remington to .22 Pellet Conversion
.50G.I. Conversion for Glock 20/21
Archangel G36 Conversion Kit for 10/22
Archangel Sparta - Mini 14/30 Stock
Attero Arms AK Mount - $75, Co-Witness With Micro Red Dot
Charter Arms Rimless Revolvers (CARR)
Chiappia Rhino 4" Revolver - Damn That's Ugly!!
Crosman MAR177 AR-15 PCP Pellet Rifle
Eagle Grips Kirinite Grips
Excel Arms X-22R Rifle And X-22P Pistol
Galco KingTuk IWB Holster
Heinie Sights for New Kahrs Coming!
Hoppe's No.9 Air Freshener
IMI Magal Carbine
Israeli Pistol Named After Obama. . . !?
Kahr Mini-380 Coming Soon
Kel-Tec SU-16/SU-22 Pistol Grip and AR Stock Adapter
Lancer L5 AR-15 Mags. Thumbs Down.
Lone Wolf to Produce Aftermarket Polymer Glock Frames
Lone Wolf Glock Frame Available. . . Finally
New Chinese SMGs and 2 5.8mm Pistols
New GSG-5 Rimfires
New Winchester AutoComp Smokeless Powder
New Mini-14s with 20-Round Magazines
New Steyr AUGs Available
More on Mini-14 20-Round Mags from Ruger
Mossberg's Lightning Bolt Action Trigger - AccuTrigger Knock-Off
Pistol and "Bullet" Ice Cube Trays
PMag Coupler = 50 or 60 Round AR-15 Magazine
Promag/Archangel 10/22 Target Stock
Remington Rimfire Black Rifle: 597 VTR
Report On Military FN SCAR Rifles
Rumor - Glocks With Adjustable Grips
Safir Arms .410 Bore AR-15 Shotgun Upper
Skymall, Repurposed Ammo Cans, $110
Springfield Armory XD M-Factor
Some Cool SKS Stuff
Some New Firearms - 4/16/09, a new Bren Ten, semi-auto shotguns, black rifle stuff
Tapco U.S.-Made SKS Bolt
Taurus TCP - Another Micro .380ACP Pocket Pistol
Thureon Defense 9mm Carbine
U.S. M9A1 Pistol
Gas Blow-back M4 Carbine from WA (AirSoft)
Zombie Targets

Optics
Attero Arms AK Mount - $75, Co-Witness With Micro Red Dot
Finally Replaced Aimpoint Battery
Low-Power Variable Scope Vs. Red Dot
Scope Adjust Program for TI Graphing Calculator

Politics
Ammo Shortage.  Here We Go Again.
Obama's "Clean Coal"

Recalls
ALS .50BMG Upper Safety Notice and Recall
Beretta Neos Recall
Bushmaster ACR Recall
Colt 1911 Pistol Recall
EAA Witness Safety Recall
Knight Revolution and Revolution II Rifle Recall
Remington .17HMR and 597 HMR Rifle Recall
Ruger LCP Pistol Safety Recall
Ruger SR9 Pistol Safety Recall
SIG P238 Pistol Recall
Smith & Wesson 22A Pistol Recall
Smith & Wesson I-Bolt Rifle Recall
Smith & Wesson Model 329 Safety Recall
Smith & Wesson Performance Center 460 Safety Recall
Smith & Wesson PPK Recall
Winchester Ranger .223Rem Ammo Recall
Tapco AK G2 Trigger Recall
Zel Custom Tactilite T1 .50BMG Upper Recall

Reloading/Handloading
AGI Video: (Really) Excessive Headspace
9mm Luger 124gr +P Gold Dot Replica Load
Minor Loads For Competition
Some Pet Loads

RKBA Advocasy
2007 FBI Crime Report
40 Reasons For Gun Control - Sarcasm
An Example Of The Slippery Slope
Another Child Expelled For Toy Gun In School
Anti-Gun Hypocrite Pulls Gun on Burglary Suspect
April 19th: Day Of The Shot Heard 'Round The World
BOHICA!  New Import Ban?
Boy Defends Mom With BB Gun
Buy Aimpoint At Midway To Help NRA
Confiscation Letters, The Gun Confiscation Squad, and a Poem
Crime Rate Still On The Decline - CCRKBA.org
Current Status Of Gun Ownership In Washington, D.C. - 4/1/2010
DefCAD - 3D Printable AK-47 Magazine
Free Book on Gun Rights/Self Defense
Free One-Year NRA Memberships
Free NRA Membership From Guns/Handgunner Magazines
fxhummel1 Biblical Self-Defense Song
Gun Buybacks Don't Work?
Gun Control Explained Video
"Guns In America," TV Editorial (National Geographic Channel)
Hawaii Passed Gun Owner Protection Laws?!
Holder and the Fast And Furious Memos
Holder Knew About Fast And Furious In March?
Hubert Humphrey (Liberal) On The 2nd Amendment
Illinois Carry Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jim And Sarah Brady Living In Delaware
John Connor Comments On D.C. Vs. Heller Decision
John Farnman on "Convenient Fantasy"
Illinois Will Get Concealed Carry, But. . .
Madison Rising - Check Them Out!!
Major Faux Pas From Mayor Bloomberg and MAIG
Mandatory Reading
Man Uses Pistol For Protection In National Park
Martha Stewart's Daughter Granted Handgun Permit In NYC
Mass Shootings in Israeli Schools?  Um, no.
More Guns, Less Crime In Washington, D.C. in 2009
Murder Free Month In Miami, FL
My Feinstein Ban, "Oh Shit!" Emergency Letter
"New" PA Governor Signs "Castle Doctrine" Bill into Law
Nobody's Going After THEIR Guns?! (Gangster Gun Pr0n)
Obama's Appointee for BATFE Director *IMPORTANT*
On Disarming Citizens, Back In 1764
On the Radio, for About 25 Seconds
Open Letter to Elected Officials
Pennsylvania Attorney General Closes "Florida Loophole"
Poll, RE: Stanton Heights Shooting (Pittsburg Post Gazette)
Pulpless.com Gunclock - Counter of defensive gun use, and RKBA information
Reflections on SBR Laws and AR Pron
Remember The L.A. Riots? Many Seem To Have Forgotten
Shooting Rampage In England, Bobbies Unarmed And Helpless To Stop It!!!
Sigh. Pocket Knife Ban In The Works?
Still Confusion Over Zimmerman Trial
St. Louis Alderman Advocates Armed Self-Defense
Try to Keep Calm, People
Use GoodSearch, Money Goes to NRA
Wal-Mart Videotaping Gun Purchasers

Shooting
Minisniping/Rimfire Tactical Match
Paper For Sighting In
Tiger McKee - Dry Firing May Induce Bad Habits

Shotguns
Safir Arms .410 Bore AR-15 Shotgun Upper
Saiga Pistol Grip Conversion: Saiga 12 Shotgun

Television
Shooting RKBA Shows On Spike
Shooting Shows Back on NBC Sports Channel
Virtual Arsenal On Mythbusters

YouTube
Couple More From Forgotten Weapons
Forgotten Weapons YouTube Channel
fxhummel1 Biblical Self-Defense Song
Gun Control Explained Video
Gun Channels on YouTube

Zombies
Zombie Defense Bug Out Gun

Ithaca Factory Tour on Some Assembly Required

Some Assembly Required
Discovery Channel
Thursday, August 28th
8:30 P.M., EST
Friday, August 29th
12:30 A.M., EST
"Check local listings for time and channel"

The assembly of Ithaca shotguns will be covered for part of the episode. It could be interesting.

Re: Root Of All Evil: NRA vs. PETA

Although there was more applause from the audience when asked whether they thought PETA was the Root Of All Evil, Black declared the NRA the Root Of All Evil anyway.

One more comedian that I've lost all respect for.

Midway Coupon for August

"To receive your $15 off:
1. Place $200 or more of in-stock products in your shopping cart. Enter Promotion Code WEB20088 in the box entitled 'Promotion Code' on the Shopping Cart page.
2. You will see the discount on the Confirmation page before placing your order.
3. Remember, this promotion code is valid for orders placed on MidwayUSA.com.
4. Limited to one per customer and one promotion code per retail order.
5. Hurry, offer ends at 11:59 PM CT August 24, 2008."

Root Of All Evil - PETA vs. NRA

On the next episode of Lewis Black's Root Of All Evil, the debate will be between PETA and the NRA. Two comedians will argue which group is the "Root Of All Evil," to be decided by Black.

The show airs on Comedy Central at 10:30p.m. on Wednesday night and 12:30a.m. Wednesday night/Thursday morning (depending on your point of view), Eastern Standard Time. As ususual, "check your local listings for time and channel."

I've thought of Lewis Black as being pretty nonpartisan, but Comedy Central has gotten pretty douchey, at least since Jon Stewart took over The Daily Show.

EDIT TO ADD: Apparently, the episode got bumped to next week, August 20th.

Sights for Defense Pistols

(This was a response to a question on a message board, I thought it may be useful to those reading the blog also)

I have Heinie straight eight sights with the wide notch on my Glocks. Pretty much the same as the Warren Tactical sights, except they are serrated.

I still have a couple pistols with Trijicon and Mepro Tru-Glo sights. The light bars between the front sight and the edges of the rear sight are way too small. Front sights pretty much fill the whole notch and it's hard to tell if you've really got the pistol pointed straight. After discovering better sights, I started buying pistols with whichever sight set is cheaper, then I change em out with a good aftermarket set.

My rimfire conversion upper has the Glock adjustable sight. It's not so bad on the 22 slide, but I wouldn't have one on defense or competition pistol. A little too fragile.

Small Update

I don't know that anybody really cares, but my Caspian frame finally got ordered (for real) on Tuesday. The dealer that I had gone to e-mailed Caspian, and never got a response, and had not tried to call them until I went in to the shop, and stood there until he picked up the phone and dialed.

I edited the Western Arms airsoft M4 posting (again) to add a link to a review.

July Midway Coupon

Code: WEB22578

Save $20 off an order of $225 or more. Expires July 28, 2008.

Gas Blow-back M4 Carbine from WA (AirSoft)

Western Arms is making a gas blow-back airsoft version of the M4. Western Arms has been making high-end gas powered airsoft guns for over a decade. Until the M4, I don't think they've ever really don't a rifle before, unless you count the funky hi-cap 1911s with stocks and long barrels.

Pictures and Info on M4 at WarGame Club Shop
Pictures and Info on M4 CQBR at WarGame Club Shop
Review of WA M4 CQBR at RedWolf Airsoft

Although it's rather expensive compared to an electric airsoft assault rifle, they are a lot more fun to shoot. The gas blow-back guns actually have a little recoil, where the electric guns just kinda vibrate and make sewing machine noises.

A lot cheaper than a real M-16 or converted AR (about $10,000), and with some precautions, you can shoot airsoft guns indoors.

I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before there are longer barrels available. Edit: Nevermind, I was going backwards through the Arnie's Airsoft News, and didn't know there was a standard M4 available when I first posted.

Alliant Blue Dot Powder

I use a lot of fast-burning powder for my normal practice and competition ammo, but I couldn’t use the usual Hogdon TiteGroup for a Gold Dot replica load, because the pressure would be too high.

Blue Dot is a relatively coarse powder, whose granules resemble little disks about two millimeters in diameter. It seems to meter fairly well in my Hornady Lock-N-Load measure, with accuracy and consistency similar to Titegroup.

Although felt recoil and muzzle flip is quite mild, even with the fairly hot loads I use it for, the “boom” and fireball at the muzzle are very noticeable.

I consider Blue Dot to be a very clean powder. I have not seen unburned powder anywhere, and the powder residue is not very hard to remove. This seems sort of unusual, because I’m completely filling the case with powder. You’d think that there would be more junk left behind.

I am happy with this powder, and will probably continue to use it to make replicas of self defense pistol loads. It can’t be used to load 9mm to major, but outside of USPSA Open class, almost no one loads to that power level anyway. Hogdon HS-6, which I bought for 9mm major loads, leaves unburned powder behind. To get as much power as you get from HS-6 without the mess, you’d have to step up to the more expensive VV powders, or deal with even more noise.

Book Review: Combat Handgunnery, ed. 5 & 6

There are two editions that Ayoob wrote; the older version that I have (5th Edition), and the newer 6th edition, which is mostly the same, but with some updates. If you want to get serious about handgunning and/or keeping/carrying a pistol for defense, then you should really consider getting a copy, preferably the newer 6th edition. This is kind of the Bible of handgunning. If you've been around a while though, it may be a little bit of a waste of time and money.

Although not all gun nuts are convinced that Ayoob is the most qualified person to write a book like this, I think the information is logical and backed up by real-world evidence. Ayoob has been writing professionally for decades, most of which revolves around self-defense and handguns, and the writing in the book reflects that experience.

The book covers handgun selection (including revolvers, single-action autos, double-action autos, lightweight revolvers, micro handguns, and striker-fired autos (including Glocks), buying used handguns, selecting a defense load, selecting holsters, carry etiquette, shooting technique (including reloads, drawing from concealment, using cover, safety manipulation, "point shooting," and other tactics), "responsible customizing," tips on keeping you out of jail if you have to use a firearm for defense, securing handguns with safes and locks, women and young people and handguns, and it touches on competition.

Different ready positions, point shooting techniques, handgun grasping techniques, and stances are evaluated. Some common mistakes are explained.

The Maxing Qualification chapter may be very useful to those in law enforcement, and those that need to take a qualification course to get a concealed carry permit.

Personally, I found "Lost Secret #5," the smooth trigger roll, to be extremely useful in slow accurate shooting. Otherwise, the book is going to be pretty useless to those only interested in shooting paper bulleyes.

There are competition books ("Practial Shooting: Beyond Fundamentals," by Brian Enos, and Matt Burkett's "Practical Shooting Manual") and DVDs (the Matt Burkett Practial Shooting series) that go into way more detail on the nuts and bolts of shooting a pistol, but this is a real good place to start, and is a bargain at the price.

Book Review: The Glock In Competition

Contains a good bit of information on modifying a Glock pistol for competition, although you can find some of this information online for free. Springs, sights, tightening slide-to-frame fit, extending the ejector for frame mounted scopes, grip modifications, lowering the ejection port, weak points in the Glock design, and, of course, trigger jobs are covered.

The chart of what pistols are useful in which organization and class is pretty helpful. There are short reviews on the models 24 and 35. Towards the end of the book, information is given on GSSF, IDPA, and USPSA/IPSC. I found this to be a pleasant surprise, as I really don't know much about USPSA or GSSF, because there's not many of those clubs around here.

Reloading/handloading for Glocks is covered, with tips specific to different types of competition. The infamous Glock KaBooms are explained. If you don't reload, there's tips on buying factory ammunition.

The very end of the book is biographys of past and present Glock competition shooters, including The Great One of Glock, Dave Sevigny.

1911 Build Hits Snag

1911 Build Index

On Tuesday, I went into the local gun shop, and had the owner put in an order for a Caspian Government model frame from Midway. He said it would be a while before he knew what the shipping would run, but I didn't think much of it, and put down a $100 deposit.

Got a call from him today. Midway wants to charge over $60 to ship just a frame! Now, they do have to use overnight shipping to send a handgun across a state border, but last I checked, the cost was something like $28 plus tax.

So he's checking with Caspian, to see what they can do.

There are several things that could happen:
1. I could get lucky, and Caspian has a carbon steel Basic frame in stock, and I might actually save some money.
2. I eat the $60+ shipping charge from Midway, since the deposit is non-refundable, and continue as planned. So that's $175 for the frame, $60 for shipping, plus the transfer fee, and sales tax just for a stripped 1911 frame in the white.
3. I wait several weeks to get a frame from Caspian.
4. I order a Springfield G.I. 1911A1, strip everything off the frame, and end up with my Ultimate 1911, and have a box full of parts left over. Maybe I sell off some of the parts for less than they're worth.

Competition Shooting Book and DVD Reviews

Practical Shooting: Beyond Fundamentals
The subject matter is similar to that of Thinking Practical Shooting. The way Enos writes in the first couple chapters, it’s a bit like Asian philosophy or something. There’s a lot of talk about focus, concentration, awareness, consciousness, meditation and all the subtle differences. I found it to be really obnoxious. It’s almost as bad as listening to a hippie explain what it’s like to be high. Fortunately, the rest of the book is a little easier to digest.

There are some good tips on how to refine your draw and presentation. There are some drills that should be helpful. It may be one of the best books on shooting technique, and has some interesting insights on which targets to engage in which order in a competition setting.

I appreciate what Enos has done for the sport, and I suppose the Thinking Practical Shooting, and Principles of Performance books that I prefer would not have existed without Beyond Fundamentals. After the second read, I have decided to recommend this book, if you think your shooting mechanics may need some improvement.

There is a lot of information in the book. Although the book is not very thick, it seemed like it took me weeks to get through it, whereas I got through the other books pretty quickly. I think that there may be more material per dollar than the others.

Burkett's Videos 1-3
I waited far too long to buy these. Seriously. I might have gotten more of my match entry fees back as prize money.

Setting up equipment. Although some of the holster information is found in the Bianchi book, Blued Steel and Gunleather (a book that's older than I am), I have not seen this much information elsewhere. He even suggests a couple models of football cleats for the USPSA/IPSC games.

There is some discussion of pistols for the games, although almost every pistol shown in the videos is of the 2011 type sold by Burkett’s sponsor SVI.

Although most of videos are devoted to USPSA/IPSC type matches, much of the information carries over to IDPA, and there is IDPA specific information.

Burkett dissects draws, movement between shooting boxes, stepping into the shooting boxes, shooting from barricades, shooting on the move (also covered in Practical Shooting: Beyond Fundamentals, although slightly different technique), kneeling from standing-start and from moving, going prone, and target-to-target transitions to name a bunch. Applied to your game, these tips should cut fractions of a second off your time here and there, and improve your scores fairly dramatically.

One thing that kinda bugged me was that he made a crack about one of his students hopping into the shooting box, rather than stepping in. I swear that I’ve seen Leatham or Miculek teach exactly that on the Shooting USA TV series.

Video 3 is an interview with Brian Enos. It is about 45 minutes long, and is not broken up into chapters, which means you have to watch it all in one lump, or note the time where you left off and fast forward to it the next time.

Burkett's Video 4
The video starts out with a review of setting up gear, grip, stance, and draw, as shown in the first three videos.

Shooting from trigger reset is discussed. I wondered where that would come in.

There is more coverage of shooting multiple targets with drills on a couple plate racks.
Bonus video is of a national USPSA match. Damn! Those open class guys can really hose those targets! The stages are pretty wild too.

Burkett Practical Shooting Manual
This one’s a tough call. A lot of the same material is in the first three volumes of his video series, and it makes a little more sense in video form than in words. There are some practice drills recommended in the book that may be helpful, and some other tips and equipment information that isn’t covered in the video series. If money is really tight, and you’re good at reading textbooks, maybe skip the videos and buy the book. Otherwise, I would say skip the book and just buy the videos. If you feel like you get a lot out of the videos and want to get a little bit more of the same, then consider getting the book also.

Thinking Practical Shooting
Mostly, this book is on being mentally prepared to shoot a match, and win it. I'm having a hard time explaining what's in it without giving it all away.

Although the author says that he didn't want to make it a book about shooting technique, there is some technique discussed, and it was good enough that I highlighted a good bit of it.

I am glad I bought this book, because I can see how this information can definitely help cut down on the number of "brain freezes," mistakes, and garden variety match screw-ups. I started highlighting on my second time through the book, and by far it is my most highlighted shooting book. There is a lot of useful information here.

The book will help you to be prepared to shoot, thinking positive about your skills, and hitting
the spots you want to shoot as you go through the stage. I can see it also helping you to get jobs, women, and success in general. . . although I imagine a lot of you just rolled your eyes at that.

The book is specifically centered on IPSC, although almost all of it applies to USPSA, and a lot of it still applies to IDPA and other "practical shooting" matches.

If you are not shooting matches yet, get out there and do it, but definitely think about getting a copy of this book.

Refinement and Repetition
It’s an introduction, followed by 80 pages of dry-fire drills, with half of those pages dedicated to recording your times. I probably could have lived without this book; I could have come up with my own dry-fire drills and recorded them in a notebook or in a spreadsheet.

Principles of Performance
The first eighty-some pages are similar to Thinking Practical Shooting. Then there’s thirty-something pages of dry-fire drills (although half of the pages are for recording your times). Last are about twenty pages of live-fire exercises, again with space for recording your times.

The first eighty pages are what makes the book valuable to me. There may be some duplication from Saul’s book, but there’s a lot of other things that Saul didn’t hit on. There is an interview with Lanny Bassham, author of With Winning in Mind, that I think comes off like a sales pitch, but contains some helpful information, and I’ll probably end up picking up a copy of the book.

Perfect Practice
Like Refinement and Repetition, this is a dry-fire drill book. There’s about 120 pages of drills with maybe 1/8 of that dedicated to space for you to record your times. I could have lived without this one also. I guess that I was looking for some novel approaches to dry-fire practice, and I guess there just isn’t any.

1911 Build Has Started, I Guess. Intro.

1911 Build Index

My "Economic Stimulus" check is coming soon, I've got birthday checks to cash, and my bank and investment accounts are doing okay. I figure it's okay to spend some money.

The Ed Brown Maxi-Well with 25lpi checkering was on sale at Midway, and the CMC grip safeties were in stock, so I ordered them along with the Kuhnhausen shop manual, along with 1500 rounds of the MiniMags for my Glock rimfire conversion, and a Lula mag loader for the AK clone.

I guess the 1911 build has officially started.

Backstory
I’ve been on a quest to build a competition 1911 to my liking. I would prefer not to buy a complete pistol, even if it’s cheaper to go that way. I want a gunsmithing project.

I looked into using a Armscor/Charles Daly/RIA pistol as a base gun, but dropped the idea after reading a handful of reports of rattling pistols. I want to build a bullseye accurate pistol, and I’m not sure that a rattletrap frame/slide fit will cut it.

I looked into using a Taurus pistol as a base, but I’d pretty much be stuck with the grip safety that comes with the pistol, and the slide to frame fit may not be as tight as I’d like. Springfield (actually Imbel made) frames are not made to John Brownings specs, and you are very limited in which grip safeties you can use.

Ideally, I would like a frame with a long dustcover. Les Baer quoted me $595.00 for a Monolith frame, which I think is the retail price for a complete Taurus PT1911. The STI RangeMaster frames are cast/cut for ramped barrels, which are generally not recommended for .45ACP pistols. SVI makes frames with long dustcovers, but will not sell the frames separately.

So, maybe I should just use a standard frame, and maybe someday down the line, a longer frame will be available at a reasonable price. I think it will happen.

So, I think I’m going to start with a Caspian frame and STI slide, and piece together the pistol that I want, with a minimum of leftover parts. Caspian casts and machines their frames here in the U.S. of A, while the Tauri, Armscor, and Springfield Armory frames and slides are all made somewhere else. “Made In America” doesn’t seem that important until it’s the job you do getting outsourced.

Edit To Add
Just to be clear, this pistol will not be replacing any Glocks for carry and/or competition. Should I ever get the itch to shoot bullseye, it may get used for that. Otherwise, I may take it out to the range, or shoot action pistol matches with it if I get the itch. Mostly, it's going to be a puzzle for me, except I know where all the pieces go, they just don't fit together properly yet.

Free Book on Gun Rights/Self Defense

The book, Stopping Power, by J. Neil Schulman, is available for download from The Gunclock Website.

Schulman summarizes the book, saying, "My 1994 book, Stopping Power: Why 70 Million Americans Own Guns, makes the point -- through analysis of history, criminology, statistics, and dramatic examples -- that 'Gun control increases violent crime by disarming helpless victims and shifting the balance of power to the illegally armed criminal or terrorist.'"

The book is over 300 pages, and well cited. Schulman makes some interesting points, observations, and analogies.

Latest Midway Coupon, Expires the 22nd

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5. Hurry, offer ends at 11:59 PM CT June 22, 2008.

I Won! Sort Of. . .

I caught the bowling pin match at Field & Stream this time, having missed the first one in the fall, because I got the date wrong.

It came down to me, and Bob Britton (with a High Standard), and the same Bob Britton (second entry with a Ruger Charger). So we went up to shoot, and I edged out Bob who was shooting the High Standard. Would I have won if Bob had a second magazine for the High Standard, or if he had used the Charger? I dunno, maybe not.

I shot at least one shoot-off clean, 5 shots and 5 hits. When I reloaded, I made my mag changes clean, but I had a few moments of brain freeze, and didn't start the first shoot-off with both hands on the grip, which was just dumb.

It was fun, and was the first match I ever made a profit on, if you consider the cost of ammunition used in practice.

I shot this one with my race gun with the Advantage Arms rimfire upper, and a ProPoint PDP2 that I keep ready and sighted in for the AA upper.


I've tried to use centerfire guns before, and never did very well. I think I'll be sticking to the rimfire conversion.