Dawson Precision is perhaps best known for their 1911 style race guns. They build beautiful guns on the STI 2011 frames for competitive shooting in IPSC . While known for those 1911′s they also make accessories for a lot of other guns including the Glock. This picture is of the DP Ice Magwell on a Glock 17L. As you can see it would certainly aid as a funnel for faster reloads. The magwell comes with a replaceable plastic insert that is designed to make the transition from the magwell to the frame flawless. Cost is $72
Can you see why they call it a funnel?
The photo below shows a standard mag with the DP Glock extension installed. This adds about 4 rounds of 9mm to the mag. It also makes it easier to load and reload as you are shooting at the range. They cost $32.95 and come with a new spring. We can modify the follower for you so they function reliably when we install the base pad.
This year has been a wonderful year for so many reasons. We have seen more and more of you come to the website and participate with us. The blog has been growing steadily which has provided much satisfaction. Many of you are now first time gun owners as of last November. All in all a good year.
As I look back on 2009, I am pleased that we have introduced a few new things to you this year like the Ruger SP101 conversion. We are sometimes asked to do things just like this that have become so popular they just stay with us.
We have also tried hard to keep you in the loop with good information on a variety of topics that included many different product reviews. I have been most interested to see all of your interest in the Taurus Judge. Does this mean more and more of you are buying shotgun pistols, or are you just casually interested?
Well, here are some things to watch out for in the coming weeks and months as we get ready for 2010:
AR-15- there are some big things happening here with the AR-15 platform. Things are falling into place after a 5 month process. We love the platform, and think you will love what we will be offering.
More product reviews. Woolrich has been so good to us this year. They have consistently responded with product for us every single time we have asked for it. Right now we have requested products from Blackhawk, 5.11, and Eotac for a tactical polo round up. Hopefully we will have something for you soon.
New variations of the SM-1 package. If you have an M-3 light, we have something cool for you.
More information on competitive shooting sports.
Finally, we are trying to work out the beginnings of Mossy Creek Training Academy, to begin offering the CCW permit for the State of TN.
Here is what we need from you: ideas, products to review and of course interesting projects. The ideas can be about anything gun related. The products to be reviewed can be sent to us anytime your company would like. The interesting projects are always welcome.
I want to show a video of Rick Simes, from the Tactical Shooting Academy, shooting targets at different distances to show you should engage your competition targets. One of things we all struggle with is trying to be faster. Rick does a good job of taking the time on the longer shots, and moving quickly through his closer shots. When you have distance, take the time to get a good sight picture, and trigger pull to break the shot.
Here is a video of Todd Jarrett shooting an IPSC stage with a hat cam. It provides a great vantage of how incredibly fast the top shooters are moving while they run these stages. After the hat cam the video shows him shooting it with a traditional camera view. Notice his mag transitions. Very smooth, and always while moving.
If you carry a gun on a daily basis, outside of a uniformed position, I have a question for you: Do you carry the gun you shoot the most? Being a competitive shooter myself I find that I am often lacking in practice time for my real gun.
For many years I have shot a Glock 17 in IDPA. This gun has had untold thousands of rounds put through it, but my S&W J-frame has not had even 1,000 rounds sent out of it. Obviously this presents a problem with proficiency. I am much better with the Glock 17 than any other gun that own, but I don’t want to carry a full size gun all the time.
This leads me to a thought that isn’t perfect, but it makes sense especially if you find yourself shooting one system a lot. If you are a twice a year shooter, you can’t hit anything anyway (want to find out how good you are? go to a local IDPA, IPSC, GSSF match. very humbling for me). I propose that you take a smaller gun in the same family. If you like the 1911, try the officers model. If you like the Glock 17 try the 26.
The reason that this could save your life is repittion. You will default to habits from the range whenever you find yourself in a stresfful situation. By having the a gun that has the same controls in a familiar place, you will give yourself a much greater chance of a successful outcome. You will also be a better shot.
If you think about it, it would be like Kobe practicing with a Nerf ball all week and playing with a regulation ball on Sunday. Doesn’t translate to success. The Nerf ball might be more fun, more forgiving and generally easier to manipulate, but it won’t make you a better player. Practice like you plan to play.
Every four years in America a phenomenal thing takes place designed by our founding fathers to make sure our country has every opportunity to reflect the will of the people. You guessed it; a presidential election. KEEP READING (Sorry for yelling, but this won’t be what you think). The transfer of power takes place without coup, military action, blood in the streets etc. We are truly blessed to be a part of such a wise heritage of leadership that created a form of government that still works today. The only thing about that change of power is that it always follows a change of agenda. Obviously you should support candidates that reflect your values and interests, but there are several other things you can do to ensure your interests are protected and none of them involve rallies, marches or campaign signs. You don’t even have to be a Democrat or Republican. All you have to be is who you already are.
Take someone shooting. I was reminded of this last night as several friends and I were talking. I have been delinquent by not taking some of my own family members to the range. Since I entered the business I have taken countless friends and family out for their first time on the range. I think you will be surprised at their reaction. In all my years of shooting only one person has ever declined this invitation, and he happened to believe that guns should be banned. He chose not to go on moral grounds, and I respect that. However, I have had many people who thought guns were inherently dangerous change their minds after a day at the range.
What generally happens is that people’s fears are relieved when they see that shooting is not about being militant. They learn that guns don’t go off by themselves. They learn that it is a great family atmosphere in many ways like other sports they have participated in through the years. What generally happens is that they come away with a whole new appreciation for your passion.
By taking your friends shooting, they can see all of the great things about your sport. Same thing with hunting, reloading, or the shooting sports. Most people would love to participate if they were invited by someone that could show them the ropes. Just remember that you will be the most important impression they have on the shooting sports so make it a good one by teaching them firearm safety. One final thought on this; make sure you start them off with a 22lr. No Dirty Harry stuff. We want them to come back!
There is one other way you can make a difference. Join the NRA. We are NRA members through and through. I have a Life Membership, and MCC is also a member. They are great proponents of your freedom, and they offer some of the most affordable training available to you. When you join you will receive gun insurance, a magazine and great discounts on other services.
Total cost to all of these radical ways to make sure you continue to enjoy the shooting sports: less than $50 ($35 for the NRA and $15 for ammo and targets).
If you are into competitive shooting, you know how a fast reload often makes the difference between 1st and 2nd place. Check out Travis as he reloads. Incidentally he is a AMU (Army Marksmanship Unit) shooter. When you load like this, it really helps.
If you are thinking about an extended mag release for you Glock, here are a few questions you should answer;
1. How will I feel if I bend over and my drop free mag goes flying across the floor of the supermarket? Warning: If you are not a skinny person, you have a very high likelihood of loosing your mag inadvertently. This is bad, but not the end of the world. Read next question for end of the world.
2. How will you feel if your gun only goes bang once? Same premise, only this time you weren’t lucky enough for the mag to actually come out, it just unseated itself when you bent over. Some unfortunate incident arises, and your gun only goes bang – click . . . .
3. Do you need a competitive advantage in IDPA or IPSC? It may be that you have smaller hands and could use the extra length of the extended mag release to gain a few tenths of a second in your reloads.
If you answered yes to question 3 you need an extended mag release. Question 1 and 2 leave too many opportunities for Murphy’s Law to show up. If you shoot a lot of competitions, it’s worth it to buy a gun dedicated to competition and to have one dedicated for CCW. Think about it. It could be your life.
