Starbucks Appreciation Day 2

As reported by Sebastian and others, the National Gun Victims Control Action Council is holding another boycott of Starbucks, on February 14, because of their policy of allowing customers to follow whatever local laws say about the open carry of guns in their stores.

As a result, Sebastian is proposing a second annual Starbucks Appreciation Day on the same day. I plan to visit my local Starbucks with my wife, and thank the manager for their refusal to yield to the anti-gunners.

I encourage you to do so, too, and report your impressions here.

Holster Review - Don Hume H715-M IWB

Once upon a time, when I carried my Glock 17 inside the waistband, I used a cheap, non-branded split leather holster, that I bought for $4 at a big box sporting goods store while my wife was next door buying throw pillows.

I didn't carry my G17 inside my pants very often. It was painful after just a short while carrying. The back of the slide dug in, and the extended magazine release, which wasn't covered by the holster, pinched my skin whenever I moved.

A few years later I got a smaller Glock 19, and it was a little better to carry than the G17 with this holster, but not much.

+++++

Then, a couple of years ago, I was on a business trip in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and I had an extra hour before I needed to be back at the airport for my flight, so I dropped by Cheaper Than Dirt. (Actually, I made my flight plans with a trip to Cheaper Than Dirt in mind.)

I had never given much thought to a leather IWB holster, but there on the Don Hume wall was a great looking little number for the G19, priced at $22. I decided to give it a try, and I'm glad I did.

The holster fit is just right. I use "just right" on purpose. Leather holsters are fit to the gun they hold, and not all of them are done well. For instance, I have one holster with a fit that looks really great, so that the outside of the holster looks just like my gun. But, it is fit so tight to the ejection port that the leather has been cut by the trailing edge of the ejection port by the repeated action of holstering and drawing my gun.

On the Don Hume, the interior of the holster is shaped to the G19 just enough to hold the gun in place. Retention is excellent, while the draw is smooth, with no hesitation or hold up.

Coverage of the gun is excellent as well. The trigger and trigger guard are completely covered, and the barrel doesn't extend past the end of the holster at all.

The holster rides higher on my pants than the old one did, and at first, I didn't like that. The difference isn't much - the Don Hume rides at about the trigger, and the old holster rode at the magazine release - but after some practice, I find that I can draw my gun a lot easier with more of the gun elevated.

The problem I had with the magazine release pinching into my skin is solved in this holster. While the mag release isn't covered, the holster material is thicker than the length of the release, so that it does't even reach my skin.

The top of the holster is reinforced, so that the holster is held open while it is in place in my belt, even with the gun removed. As a test, I've carried the holster empty for several hours, and the holster never collapsed. re-holstering is smooth.

The leather finish is excellent, without blemishes or streaking. The belt clip is just right, too, and holds on to my 1-1/2 inch belt without slipping off, yet isn't too stiff that I can"t easily remove it with my thumb.

+++++

Based on two years of using it at least 4 times a week, I can enthusiastically recommend the Don Hume H715M holster for the Glock 19.

The next time business takes me to Fort Worth, I'll probably pick one up for my G21.

Justice At Long Last?

As soon as I felt your gun I should have took two steps back, pulled my Glock 40 and just put 10 bullets in your ass and let you drop. And I wouldn’t have lost any sleep.

Canton, Ohio Patrolman Daniel Harless

Daniel Harless, whose embarrassing and inexcusable treatment of motorist and concealed carry license holder William Bartlett during an incident in the early morning hours of June 8, 2010, has finally been fired as the result of the investigation by his department.

There's not really a whole lot I can add to this story. The whole thing was caught on the police dashboard camera, and the Ohioans for Concealed Carry (OFCC) made sure it was posted on Youtube.

The judge hearing Bartlett's case eventually through out all charges against him. Harless's hearing was then delayed several times because of the stress Harless was undergoing, caused in no small part, no doubt, by the publication of videos of other incidents he was involved in.

Here is the dash camera footage, with commentary by the OFCC. I should note that the video contains some language that Harless uses that may be shocking to some.


Video (c) 2011 Ohioans for Concealed Carry

Kudos to the OFCC for their work on this!

Changes in Attitudes, Part 2

I've had a license to carry a concealed firearm for about 18 years, in all three states I've lived in during that time. I haven't always exercised that option.

But, as I've related before, I now carry a gun nearly everywhere I've been legally allowed. My reasons for changing are fairly straightforward - it's my right to do so, and I would rather be carrying a gun and not need it, than need an gun and not have one.

Succinctly, as Tom Givens said once in a training session, we carry a gun because sometimes we may run into someone who needs shooting.

There have been times when my family has noticed that I'm carrying, either because someone hugs my waist (not so much any more), or because some other situation arises. For instance, the other day, we were out running some errands, and by virtue of poor planning, we needed to go to the Post Office in the middle of it all. So, I had to disarm discreetly.

There were times when this kind of action on my part would draw some comments from my wife or kids. But, I've noticed that in the past few months, they have come to accept this, and the comments have stopped, for the most part.

So, this phase of my evil plan is succeeding. My family is accepting everyday carry as the norm.

Soon, it will be time to move them toward carrying themselves.

Stay tuned.

A Girl and Her Gun: An Open Letter To The Anti-Gun Folks

A powerful read, from the blog A Girl and Her Gun: A Girl and Her Gun: An Open Letter To The Anti-Gun Folks.

Too Many Victims

In response to the Brady Campaign's marking of the anniversary of the Tuscon shootings, Joe Huffmann produced this video showing a real solution to the problem.

Thanks Joe!

Gun Review - Glock 17

This is the first in a series of reviews of guns I own, have owned, or have shot enough to be sure of what I'm writing. Like everything here, this is based on my experience and research. Your mileage may vary.

The Glock 17 is the full size 9mm version of the famous Glock handgun, first introduced to the US market in 1986.

I bought Bruce, my Gen 2 Glock 17, in late 1992, from a pawn shop in a small town in Alabama. According to a serial number search I did through Glockmeister, it was made in March 1990. I don't know anything more about it except the shop owner told me it was used.

I've written about it in the past, so I won't go into a lot except to say that, because of the ease of maintenance and exceptional customer service, the only original parts left are the polymer frame, the slide, and the barrel. Over the years, through the graces of the Glock Sport Shooting Foundation, everything else has been replaced.

The performance of this pistol has been almost flawless. I estimate I've shot about 10,000 rounds through over the years, and in that time I have had exactly six failures, all of which were failures to extract. Three were due to a chipped extractor, which I was unaware of, thanks to a reluctance on my part to own up to the toll the ravages of time have taken on my close-in vision. Two were due to limp wristing (1 by me and 1 by my son), a failure of the shooter to support the gun to allow the cycling slide to completely extract the spent shell.

The remaining failure was caused by me shooting the pistol without a magazine in place, to see what it did. Now I know.

I have never had any light strikes on primers, no double feeds. In fact, for years, since I had no malfunctions of any kind, the only instruction I got on clearing malfunctions was watching fellow IDPA and USPSA competitors.

The only magazine problems I've had were from the older, non-fully metal lined magazines, which were since redesigned. I've replaced all those magazines.

As a Generation 2 frame, the gun has two pins (versus the 3 pins of later guns) and no finger grooves. Since about a year after I bought it, I've had a Hogue slip on grip installed. I did this more to provide repeatable indexing of my shooting hand, than as a grip aid. In fact, I find that the finger grooves on my Gen 3 Glock 19 are too close together, thanks to my unique hands - short, fat fingers, with a wide hand. (I also wear 4E shoes.) I also found that the Glock 26 I once owned was too small for my wide hands, even with an extended base plate installed on the magazines.

++++

In truth, there are four parts that I have replaced voluntarily, and not because they failed. I have installed Warren/Sevigny sights, an extended magazine release, an extended slide stop, and the (-) trigger connector, which some people call the 3.5 pound trigger connector.

Sights

About three years ago I installed Warren/Sevigny Competition Sights with the fiber optic front sights. For about 2 years I had the red fiber in the front sight, and then I changed it to the green, admittedly on a whim. I find now that I prefer the green.

I also like these sights a lot better than the Glock factory sights, especially the fiber optic front sight. They make the front sight really stand out, and they've made a big difference in my sight picture.

Extended Magazine Release

The first modification I ever did to the pistol was to install an extended magazine release, to compensate for my short thumbs. In fact, what I did was have a Glock Factory Armorer install the magazine release from a Glock 21, at the first GSSF match I ever shot, at Dallas in 1995. (That way it was factory installed and the gun qualified for Stock Service Pistol in IDPA. You see what I did there.)

Extended Magazine Catch

About that time, I also installed an extended magazine catch. This was during the time when I released the slide from slide lock with my strong hand thumb, as opposed to using the method I use now, of grasping the top of the slide with my support hand and releasing it that way. As such, since I don't (and never will) have a grip plug installed, this now qualifies as The Most Useless Modification I've Ever Made.

Minus Connector

The purpose of the (-) connector is to reduce the trigger pull of the pistol from the approximately 5.5 pounds, to something less. I've never measured the trigger pull of my pistol, but I can say it definitely lowers the pull weight. Some Glock Factory Armorers call it the 2kg connector, and 2kg is about 4.5 pounds, so I will go with that if I have to.

I only install the (-) connector on the pistol for competition or for practice, and never when I plan to carry the gun or have it available for home defense.

++++

A few years after I bought the gun, I bought a video Armorer's Course, on VHS no less. (That should give you an idea of how long ago this was.) It contained a good bit on detail stripping and cleaning and lubricating of the Glock, but the host said that about the only modification he made was to polish the barrel feed ramp. I gave that a try, and was content with it.

Until I discovered the famed $0.25 Trigger Job, so named because the cotton swabs and polishing compound required to accomplish it cost about a quarter.

Basically, what this involves is polishing all the metal parts of the Glock trigger system that contact each other, so that they are smooth, and slide easily past each other. The original method calls for cotton swabs; I used a polishing wheel on my Dremel tool. Much faster.

I've done this on all my Glocks now, and I would not own a Glock that I didn't do this to. In fact, when I bought my Glock 21 a few years ago, I let my son dry fire it before I did the trigger work, and compare that to my Glock 17, and even he could tell the difference.

++++

The accuracy of my Glock 17 has never been an issue. I figure it is more accurate than I am capable of shooting. No, it will very likely not shoot one ragged hole at 50 yards. But it will put all its shots in the A zone of a USPSA target at 25 yards, and it will put all its shots in the center of mass of an armed attacker, as long as I hold the sights there while I smoothly press the trigger. And that's all I require it to do.

++++

In the areas of reliability, durability, affordability, shootability, and customer support, the Gen 2 Glock 17 exceeds my expectations. I would recommend this gun, as well as the later Gen 3 and Gen 4 models, to shooters of all experience levels, for competition, recreation, or self-defense shooting.

The Case for Concealed Carry on College Campuses

My daughter is a third year student at Georgia Tech. In the past year, I can't count how many robberies have been reported on campus. There was even a rape of a student on campus right before a football game.

As the new legislative session approaches, the time has come to fight to change Georgia law to allow licensed Georgia Weapons License holders to exercise their right to carry concealed on campus.

It won't be an easy task. Georgia Tech has a stated policy from 2010 advocating leaving the law where it is. But the arguments they list in this policy, as well as the statistics they quote, are taken right from the Brady Campaign, and they are easily refuted.

Here is the heart of the issue: when people hear that we want to allow concealed carry in campus, they immediately assume we want to allow every college student to carry a gun.

But the law guiding concealed carry on Georgia, and in every state that allows it, limits licenses to those 21 years or older. So, students younger than 21 would not be allowed to carry in any case.

In fact, the majority of those who would be eligible to carry concealed on campus would not be students at all, but faculty and staff? How many of them would be carrying guns? Who knows?

A criminal, like the one who shot up the Virginia Tech campus in 2007, doesn't care about the law. They are are going to break the law in any case, either by robbing someone at gunpoint, or by shooting someone. What does breaking one more law matter to them?

It turns out that the main deterrent to an armed attack on campus, as it is anywhere, is the unknown. The criminal, who doesn't care about breaking gun laws in the commission of other crimes, does care about being shot in the commission of that crime. And since they don't know which of their intended victims or bystanders might be able and willing to fight back, they choose not to attempt the crime at all.

Please join me in supporting Students for Concealed Carry on Campus and Georgia Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.