Marswolf

Hey Don, lighten up! No one said anything bad about a Glock. I was just pointing out that what is OK for a Glock should also be OK for a 1911.

Are Doritos the official snack food of TGO? They feature prominently in one video.

But a Glock with a 5.5# pull is OK? I don't have a problem with carrying a 1911 cocked and unlocked either. My concern is that I can draw the weapon and fire it without having to do something extra before I fire. While I would never panic.......someone else might and forget to disengage the safety. So I don't like a safety on a carry weapon and will propose legislation that outlaws safeties on such handguns. It's for the safety of our children.

I'd say you are correct Dave. There are an awful lot of guns and ammo sold because, "it like what the cops use." But LE gear is governed by a lot of factors. As Rabbi pointed out, cost is a major factor, whether the department is paying the bill or the individual officer is doing so. Just because the cops (or the military) use something, doesn't necessarily mean it's the best. A lot of gun related marketing is based on smoke and mirrors with a hefty helping of P. T. Barnum thrown in for good measure.

I have an old box of Rangers that say "law enforcement ammunition", not "law enforcement only" like the newer boxes. The reality is that the markings have no legal consequence. Lots of shops will sell you "LE ammo". I see it as more of a marketing tactic to sell ammunition to LEOs.

Federal uses a 5" barrel for both according to their Ballistics Catalog.

Well, thank you for explaining it.

First the 45 GAP. I tend to look at my Federal catalog for "standard" ammunition. Now there are all sorts of non-standard loadings, but big manufacturers tend to load what sells to the average guy. In the 230 gr. bullet FMJ, the 45 GAP is 880 ft/sec. The 45 ACP is 890 ft/sec. That's right, the GAP is slower. I just don't see a need for the 45 GAP. Again, there is nothing wrong with it. It's just a solution to which there is no problem. The 357 SIG is a bit different. That round give a significant increase in energy compared to either a standard 9mm or a 40 S&W. Yes, you can load a 9mm to close to 357 SIG specifications, but you are firing a hot round in a pistol probably not intended to continually shoot them. The 357 SIG handgun, OTOH, is engineered for those forces with every shot. I've shot SMG rounds from my Beretta 92, but I wouldn't advise doing it all the time. And some LE has been interested in the 357 SIG compared to the 40 S&W for it's significantly increased penetration of such things as car windshields. That's why it's more useful to the Highway Patrol than for city or county LE.

I don't understand. Isn't this essentially the same as carrying a Glock or XD?

Wrong. The holes in this helmet were done with "standard" ammunition, not AP. But I will say that I don't have a need for a Five-seveN. Other calibers and guns work for what I need.

Nope. The Five-seveN is a great gun in the right application. That application is something like Secret Service where you want a small controllable gun to penetrate body armor.

Yeah, the jury is still out on the .357 SIG. It's somewhat specialized and everyone doesn't need it, but it does a good job in the right application.

I've thought the same thing Len. I'm not sure that most criminals focus on preying in gun free zones. I think this is a questionable assertion. The reason to carry a gun is not to scare off criminals who might think you are packing. The purpose is to protect yourself if you are attacked or are about to be attacked. I suspect that the idea that having more concealed handgun carriers prevents attacks is probably more imagination than reason unless someone is thinking about robbing a gun club meeting or some place that has a likelihood of a high concentration of packers. To put it another way, I haven't seen any evidence that you are more likely to be attacked in a posted mall than in one that is not posted. But the inability to protect yourself in a posted mall is a good reason to stay away from such places.

Guess it's time to de-sticky this one. But it will stay open.

I don't really see anything wrong with the 45GAP round. It's just sort-of unneeded.

Got a chance to fire a few rounds today including out of one of these: H&K MP7 A1 Rate of fire - 950 rpm. Fun fun fun! I got to thinking about what I wrote before. I wasn't trying to say that you had to have a H&K to be considered "professional." Even I'm not that anal retentive. Lots of good guns out there carried by very professional people. H&K, FN, Beretta, and yes...even that ugly Austrian thing.

I checked their website. They don't seem to know they have any concerts planned.

The protest at ETSU got some good TV coverage. This being ETSU Homecoming week didn't hurt. BTW, how in hell do you have a decent homecoming week without a ball game to attend? ETSU killed off football several years ago.

Yeah, just kidding Ghosty. Thanks for your service, man.

Didn't take long....

I think the PO-lice counts. But I'm not sure about the USAF.

God helps those who help themselves.

The USP 45 is BIG! And the DA trigger on the USP sucks. But the SA trigger is very nice. To be fair, the DA does smooth out after a while but I doubt it would ever become pleasant. I use it only for emergency firing. Since it's so easy to cock and de-cock the USP, it isn't a problem. I got used to the size of the Beretta 92 with wooden factory grips, so the size of the USP 40 wasn't a problem for me. I've said before that you need to get the USP out and practice with it at least once a month (at least for me). But if you do that, the accuracy is very good. If you don't.... But it's the user, not the weapon that is the problem. The weapon is super-repeatable. I've run through a bunch of guns for "business purposes." Of maybe a dozen I've carried at one time or another, two of the ones I've kept are H&Ks. The other two are the Beretta 92SB and the Kel-Tec P3AT. Choosing a H&K isn't not a matter of snob appeal or professional appearance, although that is one of the things I look at when doing a quick appraisal of likely professionalism. H&Ks have quality manufacture and professional features. You pay for that, of course, and frankly, most people probably don't need to spend the extra money for H&K quality. A plastic trigger probably works just fine for most people, rather than paying extra for the polymer encased metal trigger on the USP. Unless you get a magnet and check out the USP, you likely won't even know the trigger is metal. But it is, and you pay extra for its design and execution. The more you learn about H&Ks, the more you understand why they cost more and why they are professional class weapons - and why some other guns that look good, are not as professional in their design and quality of manufacture. It's sort of like cooking equipment. You can use a $35 set of Ginsu knives for quite a while, but if you are really into cooking you might want to eventually buy Wüsthof at $75 or more per knife. And $125 for a Calphalon frying pan doesn't seem ridiculous after you use one for a while and understand why they are expensive. Quality costs. Same with a professional use firearm. I like my inexpensive Rock Island 1911 a lot. Probably more than my Wilson Combat. But I wouldn't trust my life to either weapon, given a choice. You can certainly get by with lesser weapons, but if you can use the best why not do that? And I got to fire about 300 rounds through a MP5 this morning.

Just sounds like a lot of Heckler envy to go with their penis envy. Oh yeah, I do sorta agree about the G3. That's why H&K decided to not continue manufacture of it, I guess. Actually, I've been shooting a bunch of H&Ks this past week. Fantastic weapons. And yes they are expensive and H&K couldn't care less whether mere mortals like them or not.

If it don't have a hammer, it ain't a real handgun.