Gun Loving John

Sorry it's been a while.

It has been a while since I blogged. A lot has happenedsince I last blogged in, some good, some not so good. So I can get this out of the way I made a list of what has happened in cchronological order. 

1. Planned to go to Michigan State IDPA Championship September 14th with 4 friends and my wife AKA PRETTY PISTOLERA. 

2. Was teaching a Class on September 10th near Percy Illinois. At the beginning of the class my cell phone rang. My father in law's 3 plus year fight with cancer was taking a turn for the worse. Finished the class somewhat distracted, took off to the hospital after the class was dismissed.

3. My lovely and STRONG bride insisted that I attend the aforementioned Match.  Bob was in bad shape so I checked availability of flights returning from Michigan just in case. I attended the match knowing that Bob was going to be around for at least a few more days.

4. I shot what had to be my best match to date.  I finished first place Stock Service Pistol Sharpshooter Class and was "bumped" up to Expert Stock Service Pistol. I also was the most accurate shooter in the match with only 24 points down the entire match. More on that later.

5. I returned home on Sunday night.  Bob fought hard but he mercifully escaped the suffering of cancer on the following Thursday evening. He went to be with Jesus and for that we are thankful. Tuesday the 23rd was the day of the funeral.  

6. I have been getting ready to go to the IDPA National Championship. I am shooting ESP Marksman.  My Special double triple quadruple checked ammunition arrived in Allentown PA on Friday Thanks to some good friends delivering it. Thad and Duck took it to Larry, Larry took it to Dan, Steve and Dan shipped it to Allentown with the proper ORMD specs on the box.    I am shooting the local practice night Tuesday and will fly out early Wednesday morning to Philly.

Stay tuned for more blogs.

I intend to blog from Philadelphia as I am going to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, And Benjamin Franklin's final resting place.

As much as I love American and our Founding Fathers, I wish I had more time to spend in New England.  But that will have to come later.   

Picture is worth a thousand words, Especially when it is backed by history.

Wow, I breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his Veep Choice.  She is a breath of fresh air to the Grand Old Party.  She believes in Gun Rights, including, GASP, the right to own So-Called Assault weapons.   Sarah the moose hunter, Sarah the Pro- Gun has arrived. I think those "Namby Pamby" Chicago/Delaware Simpering Wussies of the Loonie Left are going to be put in their unelected place by a lady from the North.  HOOORAY FOR SARAH PALIN. 

Here is the video that shows Governor Palin with an AR and an Aimpoint.

Criminals prefer Defenseless Victims

Watch this video. 

Barack Hussein Obama's Ten point Plan to "Change" the 2nd Amendment

1. Ban use Of Firearms for Home Defense.

2. Pass Federal laws eliminating your Right-to-Carry.

3. Ban the Manufacture, Sale, and Possession of all Handguns.

4. Close down 90% of the gun shops in America.

5. BanRifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting.

6. Increase Federal taxes on guns and ammunition by 500 percent.

7. Restoring voting rights for 5,000,000 Criminals including those who have been convicted of using a gun to commit a violent crime.

8. Expand The Clinton semi-auto ban to include millions more firearms.

9. Mandate a government-issued license to purchase a firearm.

10. Appoint Judges to the US Supreme Court and Federal Judiciary who share his views on the Second Amendment.

Smarten up

I run into some strange ducks at gun-shows, and even stranger ones on the Internet.  The worst by far are know-it-alls that find out something they did not previously know.  They quickly apply the, "I know it all, I did not know this, so therefore this (insert whatever factual concept) cannot be true!" These no talent ass-clowns are as annoying as cockle-burrs in a jockstrap. 

I enjoy shooting firearms, maybe too much if that is possible.  I also enjoy learning.  I have yet to teach a class that I myself do not learn something new.  I love to glean information that expands my knowledge.  I try to learn something from everyone I meet. Some teach me how to shoot, others teach me how to react to certain situations.  Still others teach me how not to be.

Sometimes some of the biggest anti-gun people are actually gun-owners.  They are the discouragers that make up 1%.  They concentrate on what you cannot do rather than what you can do.  These people try to ignore the facts that Illinois citizens can get a Florida Concealed Weapons permit.  They argue that the permit is no good in Illinois. My reply to that  has always been, "You cannot consummate a marriage at the altar,  but that did not stop you from getting married there." 

If you are one of these discouraging "know it alls"  shut up until you have time to smarten up.  Start being a winner instead of a whiner.  Then again they are not reading this...afraid they might learn something.

To all you good gun owners out there keep up the shooting and recruiting.  If we do not encourage others into our sport then firearm use is doomed.

Ask the Gunsmith 9MM VS 38 Special

A graduate of gunlovingjohn.com's Florida CCW Class asked a great question last night.

What is the difference in power between a Snub-nose .38 Special and a Glock 26 9mm?

Answer: Power Factor referred to henceforth as PF is a number that is the Velocity times the weight of the projectile.  So a 115 grain 9mm with a velocity of  1175 fps = PF of 135,125. The .38 Special has a power factor of 105,000 out of a 4" barrel.  It loses some velocity out of the shorter barrel of a Snub-nose .38. 

So lets break it down numerically.

These numbers are for Winchester White box

Snub-nose 5 Shot .38 Special.  5 shots  x 105,000 =Total PF 525,000 

Glock 26  10 Shot  9mm      10 shots x135.125 = Total PF 1,351250

9mm has  over 25% more power per round of Winchester white box over 38 special white box  

Hornady TAP Ammo has the following differences

.38 Special 158 Grain TAP  has 199 ft-lbs x 5 = combined 995 ft-lbs

147 grain has 310 Ft-lbs x 10  = combined   3100 ft-lbs    

Per round the 9mm TAP has 55% more power than the 38 special TAP ammunition. 

Looking at power factor combined with capacity the Glock 26 has 200% more power than the 5 Shot Snub-nose .38 with both firearms loaded with premium ammunition.

            

Kel-Tec PLR 22 Review

Sometimes you see a new gun and it is a must have.  I saw such a firearm at the Kel-Tec booth at 2008 SHOT Show.  It was the PLR 22. A politically incorrect plinker with a 27 round magazine.  I wasted no time and as I work for an licensed dealer I called our distributor from the floor of SHOT Show and Informed him of what as coming down the pike and asked to be placed on the waiting list. 

Well, last week it came in. I filled out a 4473, which if you accidentally type it in with the shift key depressed  is a $$&#.  Monday I picked the plinker up.  I shot it a little on Monday evening  and found that it did not function at all with Remington Golden Bullets Bulk Pack From Wally World.  It seemed to function pretty well with Federal Bulk pack.  The firearm is accurate, fun and as it comes threaded 1/2 by 28. I am sure that some of those Gun-lovers in states that allow the polite shooting of firearms will take advantage of this bargain and pair it off with a nice sound suppressor.

While the PLR 22 does not automatically stay locked back on the last round, it has a very usable button located on the bottom just behind the magazine.  

The Kel-Tec PLR 22 disassembles rather easily  using any small diameter tool that can push out a single pin.  The rest of disassembly and reassembly require no tools at all. I cannot wait for the rifle version to arrive.   As for videos of the gun in action, I let my lovely bride, Tracy, aka Pretty Pistolera, shoot the Kel-Tec PLR 22. 

  

Until next time keep your muzzles pointed in a safe direction.

Ask the Gunsmith: Dry Fire Question is a Winner

Seth from Massachusetts submitted this week's selected question for "Ask the Gunsmith." 

Seth, send me an email with your address and I will pull a small gun accessory out of my "bag of stuff" and send it on its merry way.

Question: I've always been told it is a bad practice to drop the firing pin on an empty chamber, which counts double for rim-fires. But is it better to snap the hammer just once when the days shooting is over and it's time to put the gun in storage, or to leave the hammer or striker cocked for extended periods, perhaps even years?

Well Seth, I will break your question down a little more, and answer it in that manner....  I've always been told it is a bad practice to drop the firing pin on an empty chamber, which counts double for rim-fires.

Answer: It is not always bad to drop the firing pin "dry fire" on an empty chamber.  As for Glocks and 1911's it is perfectly acceptable to "dry fire" these firearms.  THIS ACCEPTABILITY DOES NOT EXTEND TO RIM-FIRE adapter kits on a 1911 or Glock.  For other firearms read the instruction manual.  DO NOT DRY-FIRE ANY RIM-FIRE!  If you need to dry-fire a firearm go to Cabelas and purchase snap caps for each caliber.

But, is it better to snap the hammer just once when the days shooting is over and it's time to put the gun in storage, or to leave the hammer or striker cocked for extended periods, perhaps even years?

Answer: Never leave a firearm "cocked"  even a rim-fire. Insert a snap cap and leave it in the chamber, point the firearm in a safe direction and press the trigger. 

Want to win? If you send a question that is chosen as the "question of the week" you will receive a small token from GLJ.

Until next time, keep your muzzles pointed in a safe direction.

Vision impaired and illiterate need not apply.

Washington D.C. wants to enact new gun laws to "comply" with the Heller v D.C. decision.  They will allow handguns to be registered, but they must be locked up... blah, blah, blah.  The problems in the law are many.  However, they are considering a vision test and a written test before one can have a handgun.  The Second Amendment, which we know was and is reaffimed to be a right enumerated in the bill of rights.  Now, if  we made people take a vision test before they were allowed to vote, there would be every bed wetting liberal raising hell.  If we are allowed to deny Constitutionally protected rights to the visually challenged, how does that bode for the rest of our rights?  Just wondering.

Ask The Gunsmith

In the interest of saving firearms (not from anti gunners), but from shooters that have not been taught the nuances of caring for their firearm, I have decided to add a new category to the blog... Ask the Gunsmith.  I will sit down with my gunsmith, ask him a question, he answers, I enter it here.

Question:  When my Glock or other semi-auto pistol is empty with the magazine removed, is there any harm in letting the slide slam forward by simply pushing down on the slide stop lever?

Short answer: Yes.

Long Answer: Absolutely do not do it. When you let the slide slam home with a cartridge in the magazine, that cartridge acts like a shock absorber.  No harm is done. In fact, that is one of the better ways to load a semi-auto.  However, when you let the slide slam on an empty chamber, the slide moves at three times the speed it travels when loading a cartridge.  This action damages your firearm in several ways

1. It is hard on the head-space. 
2. It peens the back of the barrel.
3. It slams lugs.
4. On hammered actions it hits so hard on the hammer that the sear bounces.  This wears the sear over a short time so the hammer will start to fall resulting in an unsafe manner. 
5. It can move forward so hard it can (and has) sheared the slide top on 1911's.

Do not do this to your firearms, they don't deserve it.