A friend of mine came by the other night to pick up a really cool gun that he had ordered, and he dropped me a surprise; The Art of the Dynamic Handgun, by Magpul Industries.  It’s a 4 DVD set that follows Travis Haley and Chris Costa as they teach the Handgun Course to a group of shooters.

The first thing that I want to say about these DVDs is that they are some of the best produced gun DVDs I have ever seen.  Most gun DVDs look like they were shot at a range with a handycam.  You just don’t get what you pay for in many cases.  These were done first rate with great editing.  You definitely won’t get bored watching these, and for $50, they are a solid value.

The Dynamic Handgun shows civilians, military and law enforcement how to properly deploy a handgun in many situations you are likely to see on the street.  They cover basics and advanced shooting positions that you should practice but normally don’t.   The one thing I came away with is that my training has been far too soft lately.   It is too easy to go shoot a few mags at the range and never get dirty or tired.  This obviously leads to a plateau of skills that are rusting away.

Interestingly enough for all you Fist-Fire fans, the shooting position looks familiar.

If you want to see a preview, check out their stuff on You Tube.

I just completed my U.S. Census for this year.  I encourage all of you to be good citizens and do the same.  I actually completed it as soon as it arrived because I was dying to know if there was a gun question on there as many of you have written me asking about that.

There was nothing more than who lived where and what were there ages.  They didn’t ask any other questions about my personal life, which leads me to tell you this:  I hate the Internet.  I hate gun forums.  I hate people who promote these lies and waste your time.

So many readers have been really concerned about this, but it turned out to be nothing.  This happens all the time with fake legislation and other rumors that are populated in the above mentioned portals.  If you hear something that sounds a little crazy, check it out with the NRA, your congressman or senator.  Don’t start sending chain emails stirring the pot even more.  If we all see ourselves as educators, we can really go a long way to defeat some of the prevailing attitudes that people have, and save people tons of time and energy worrying about nothing.

Remember, if you are worried about the Census you are wasting time that could be spent teaching a new shooter, writing a blog about your favorite gun, or introducing your friends to the great shooting sports and reloading.  Don’t fall for it.

Here is the latest list I have for 2010 TN Gun Shows.  If you have more info on this, please leave it in the comments section to be added.  Thanks a lot.

MARCH 2010

3/13 & 14          Mid-South Guns & Gear Expo-Winchester (Serendipity Market Bldg.)

3/20 & 21          Bill Goodman Show-Nashville (State Fairgrounds)

3/20 & 21          Rex Kehrli Show-Germantown (Agricenter International)

APRIL 2010

4/2, 3 & 4          Rex Kehrli Show-Kingsport (Meadowview Convention Center)

4/10 & 11          Rex Kehrli Show-Knoxville (Expo Center)

4/17 & 18          Bill Goodman Show-Nashville (State Fairgrounds)

MAY 2010

5/1 & 2              Bill Goodman Show-Nashville (State Fairgrounds)

5/22 & 23          Rex Kehrli Show-Knoxville (Expo Center)

5/29 & 30          Rex Kehrli Show-Chattanooga (National Guard Armory)

JUNE 2010

6/5 & 6              Bill Goodman Show-Nashville (State Fairgrounds)

6/12 & 13          Mid-South Guns & Gear Expo-Winchester (Serendipity Market Bldg)

6/12 & 13          Rex Kehrli Show-Knoxville (Chilhowee Park)

JULY 2010

7/10 & 11          Bill Goodman Show-Nashville (State Fairgrounds)

7/10 & 11          Rex Kehrli Show-Gray (Appalachian Fairgrounds)

7/17 & 18          Rex Kehrli Show-Germantown (Agricenter International)

7/24 & 25          Rex Kehrli Show-Jackson (Madison Co. Fairgrounds)

AUGUST 2010

8/7 & 8              Bill Goodman Show-Nashville (State Fairgrounds)

8/7 & 8              Rex Kehrli Show-Kingsport (Meadowview Convention Center)

8/14 & 15          Rex Kehrli Show-Knoxville (Expo Center)

SEPTEMBER 2010

9/4 & 5              Rex Kehrli Show-Chattanooga (Camp Jordan Arena)

9/11 & 12          Mid-South Guns & Gear Expo-Winchester (Serendipity Market Bldg.)

9/11 & 12          Rex Kehrli Show-Knoxville (Expo Center)

OCTOBER 2010

10/2 & 3            Bill Goodman Show-Nashville (State Fairgrounds)

10/16 & 17        Rex Kehrli Show-Knoxville (Chilhowee Park)

10/23 & 24        Rex Kehrli Show-Germantown (Agricenter International)

NOVEMBER 2010

11/6 & 7            Bill Goodman Show-Nashville (State Fairgrounds)

11/6 & 7            Rex Kehrli Show-Knoxville (Expo Center)

11/13 & 14        Rex Kehrli Show-Jackson (Madison Co. Fairgrounds)

11/20 & 21        Rex Kehrli Show-Kingsport (Meadowview Convention Center)

11/26 – 28         Rex Kehrli Show-Knoxville (Chilhowee Park) THREE DAY SHOW

DECEMBER 2010

12/4 & 5            Bill Goodman Show-Nashville (State Fairgrounds)

12/4 & 5            Rex Kehrli Show-Gray (Appalachian Fairgrounds)

12/11 & 12        Rex Kehrli Show-Knoxville (Chilhowee Park)

I spent this weekend in Oak Ridge, TN taking care of some certifications that I needed to complete the TN requirements for handgun permit instruction.  We have now crossed the last barrier to having our own classes.  As soon as the NRA knocks out the paperwork, we will be good to go.

Something that I came away with was the great state of the shooting community.  I met 5 other wonderful guys who come from varied walks of life, but have a passion for shooting.  We had a business man, a security specialist, a range master, a master shooter, and a TN Constable.  All of the guys were a lot of fun, and I don’t regret the time spent.

One of the reasons I love shooting is the community that surrounds the hobby.  If you are looking for a place to meet some really cool people who have a passion for the shooting disciplines, you have to get involved.  Your sport deserves to be shared and experienced by as many people as possible.  It is a great way to get the chance to hang out with some of the coolest people from all walks of life.  If you haven’t joined a range, taken a class, or started shooting in one of the disciplines, I would encourage you to get out there and meet some of the wonderful people that enjoy your sport.  I don’t think you will be disappointed.

I wanted to take a quick moment and talk about the Shotgun Magazine Extension Tube.  We add these to every SM-1 Package that leaves the door, and it is the shotgun accessory we get the most questions about.  The Magazine Extension tube shown above is our preferred tube.  It is from Wilson Combat who as you know, makes some great stuff.  We chose this tube to be part of our shotgun packages several years ago because of its design and ruggedness compared to man of the tubes that are available today.  It isn’t the cheapest tube, and we only make $3 every time we sell one, but we think it is worth it.

The Shotgun Magazine Extension is a necessity if you are in competition, and a very nice luxury for law enforcement and home defense purposes.  One of the things though that can plague many tubes available is a feeding issue.  While they don’t happen often, it does occur and when it does it is maddening.

Generally what happens if you have a feeding problem is that the spring is binding where your Extension screws onto the existing tube.  The best tube is a one piece tube from the factory because it eliminates this problem entirely (btw: the tubes on the Remington Tactical 870′s are not one piece).  The after-market tubes will all deal with this issue from time to time.  I have seen it most often show up while trying to load the shotgun.  I have experienced this several times while building the SM-1.

The remedy can be two fold: First, you can unload the shotgun and try again.  Many times this will alleviate the loading problems.  Second, you can load one or two rounds and run the gun.  Now is the part where we get into my theory and this is always scary!  My theory for most of these problems is the lip the spring has to travel over in the extension.  However, when you put on an extension you are twisting it on, and therefore you are twisting the spring.  I think it is possible that the spring itself binds from the twisting.  I haven’t had an extension that wouldn’t respond to those two simple steps.

I was looking through the Glock Annual magazine the other day, and I was suddenly stuck by the thought that for the first time Glock seems to be playing a little catch up to some of the other brands that are on the market. For years they have been the leader in all things polymer. If your gun was black, it was a Glock. Now the Smith and Wesson M&P, Springfield XD and others are competing heavily for your polymer dollars.

The Generation 4 has been promoted heavily in all of the gun mags lately, and it certainly gets a lot of press in the Glock Magazine.  For years this magazine has been a little boring to say the least.  Most of the articles talk about Glocks being used around the world, and they rarely offer anything new.  In fact, so little changed with Glock that getting re-certified as an armorer was kind of a joke.  But that changed a lot with the implementation of the SF models, and the looks have definitely changed with the Gen 4 models.

Forget the the new grip surface.  Forget the cocking serrations.  Notice the interchangeable back straps.  For years other companies were offering this option on guns to fit a variety of hands.  Many wanted a reversible mag catch like the Beretta or the M&P have.  Now Glock has finally started.  They are playing catch up for the first time.

I will applaud them for at least catching up.  Many of the regular readers know my fascination with all things Colt.  The Colt company is fine example of an industry leader getting left behind.  They are almost irrelevant now because they have not kept up with all the options.  Want updated options?  You simply won’t look to Colt for their 1911.

What will be interesting to see as we move forward in the coming years is how much market share Glock will maintain in the polymer pistols.  Will they continue to be a leader in the industry or have they been content to not change?  By offering the back straps they are in a way admitting they had it wrong.  I would love to hear what you think on this subject, especially if like me you are a big fan of the Glock products.

If you have a Glock pistol you have purchased one of the best pistol platforms that have ever been made.  They are rock solid and reliable.  The best part about them for many people is the simplicity that comes in being a Glock owner.  While Glock modifications are endless, generally there isn’t much to do once you get your trigger smoothed up and add some decent sights.

However, there are two parts that it never hurts to replace in your Glock pistol.  In fact in all my time working on Glocks I have only seen two parts ever fail.  One of them was from abuse.  The other came from regular shooting.

If you have an older Glock you should invest the money to replace the recoil spring and its captured guide rod.  The part is inexpensive, and it is one of the two that I have seen broken.  This part should be in your pistol box.

The other part is the magazine spring.  These can be purchased three for $10.  They are integral to having a pistol that functions.  Before you start commenting on how great your Glock is and you haven’t ever changed the springs, let me remind you it is about maintenance not failure.  Think of these two items as you would the oil and tires on your vehicle.  A little preventative work goes along way.

By the way if you get the Glock Carry Package these items are replaced standard.

This weekend we put a Meprolight Night Sight on a Ruger SP101 for the first time.  I don’t have any pictures because the gun had been extensively modified by another gunsmith, and I didn’t want anyone to think we were projecting that work as our own.  Why the customer chose to have us do the installation was not discussed, we were just glad to have the work.

The Meprolight Night Sight is similar in form and function to the XS Big Dot Sight that we have put on SP101′s before, but there are a few differences in my opinion that might help you make a decision between the two.  The XS Big Dot is obviously a lot bigger while the Meprolight looks a little cleaner.  Both sights show up well in low light conditions, but the XS Big Dot draws your eyes right better than the Meprolight.  As far as cost the XS Big Dot runs about $10 more than the Meprolight.

If you are trying to make a decision about these two sights let me offer two opinions on the matter:

1. If you want a site that is more for a carry gun that is going to need to be ready when you use it, the XS Big Dot is the sight to get.  It just makes it so easy to see the front sight.  There is no searching for it.  If you want the ability to carry the SP101, but primarily use it for range use the Meprolight is perfect.  It will give you the best of both worlds.
2. If you like your guns to look a little cleaner, the Meprolight is definitely the way to go.  I am never really concerned with this, but I know that many of you take this into consideration when you are looking for custom modifications.  The Meprolight will not draw a lot of attention.

Hope this helps if you are looking for some night sight options for your SP101.