TGO David

@ Jar Jar Gore

I think in order to flunk the shooting test, you have to put two rounds into the instructor. Bob-E, one of the members here, told me that when he shot his qualifier the instructor counted up one extra shot on his target. They determined that it wasn't the same size hole as all of his other shots and that it matched the size holes that the woman shooting next to Bob-E was putting all over her paper.

I have an old FIST kydex holster in my cardboard graveyard of holsters box. I never used it and found it to be clunky and less than ideal. Their leather is probably a totally different story. One thing that I do remember is that the proprietor of FIST is a complete ass on the phone. Typical New Yorker attitude toward anything. I called to ask some questions before I purchased, and he basically treated me as though I was wasting his time. I ordered anyway (my mistake) and was never happy with the purchase. Conversely, I've dealt with Comp-Tac extensively and K&D Holsters on more than one occasion and both of them were more than willing to answer any silly question that I've had along the way. They have also taken several hundred dollars of my money as a result. FIST has taken my money only once and never will again. Your mileage may vary.

Don't hate. They would sell one to a Glock owner too.

So... when can Hero Gear get one?

HIGHLY EVOLVED: The HK416 Enhanced Carbine Is it back to the drawing board for the M468 and XM-8? Heckler & Koch's newest creation -- the HK416 -- is a worthy opponent, and a serious contender to be the next generation of assault carbines. Photo by Heckler & Koch, USA Name: Heckler & Koch 416 System Type of Equipment: 5.56mm Enhanced Carbine Killer Features: Little to no heat transfer to bolt -- significantly lower chance of discharge from a "cook-off" Unique free-floating rail system HK cold-hammer forged barrel Related Links: XM-8 Heckler & Koch By Michael Merrill With many of our M16/M4 rifles reaching the end of their service lives, we have to find an affordable, acceptable solution, now. Utilizing this inspiration, Heckler & Koch (HK) has been working on an enhanced carbine that would outperform all current competition grade 5.56mm carbines in effort to provide superior performance after the incredibly successful mid-life upgrades to the British SA80 (L85/L86) Weapons System. And now, HK has stepped up to the plate with their newest enhanced carbine -- the HK416. The HK416 operates on a short-stroke piston gas system that does not introduce propellant gases back into the weapon's interior, therefore reducing carbon fouling and cleaning time. This gas system is not sensitive to barrel length or ammunition changes, and has user-removable components. The HK416 also has a free-floating fore end with an innovative 4-quadrant rail system designed by HK. This enables all current accessories to be fitted to the weapon. The fore end can be removed and reinstalled without tools, and with no loss in zero. This weapon utilizes one of HK's famous cold hammer-forged barrels, which provides a substantial increase in reliability, service life, and operator safety. These barrels are forged with the highest quality steel in a unique manufacturing process. This produces a product that provides superior accuracy for greater than 20,000 rounds with minimal degradation of accuracy and muzzle velocity. HK has produced a new high-reliability steel magazine, which is designed to fit any of the STANAG-compatible rifles. Originally developed for the British L85 and L86 weapons, the performance of this curved, 30-round magazine was tested by select U.S., UK, and German forces in three different environments during the firing of more than half a million rounds. These tests showed a 30 to 50 percent improvement over the existing aluminum and polymer magazines currently in the U.S. inventory. After evaluations by both German and U.S. forces, it has been determined that the HK416 is definitely a contender to become the next generation of assault carbines. There are reports that a number of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan are already using HK416 carbines. Initial reports from the field show the HK416 performs superbly. The HK416 made its first appearance at the Armed Forces Journal's 2005 Shootout at Blackwater. Evaluators were nearly unanimous in their praise for HK's newest creation. One evaluator had this to say -- “I was amazed at the cleanliness of the bolt and chamber. It's a solid, reliable platform -- a combination of tried-and-true technology with new innovations … keeps the gun cooler, reducing prospects of an inadvertent full auto. And the new MP5 sights are adjustable for range -- a long-overdue improvement.” It was also noted by another evaluator that after one and a half cases of ammo, there was very little heat transfer to the bolt and the bolt face was still clean. Yet another evaluator commented, "An absolute joy to shoot. More reliable, accurate, clean, cool -- what is there not to like? This upper and this magazine should be the replacement for the M-16/M-4 right now. The steel magazine, closed gas system, and short-stroke piston solve many of the current problems with the M-16/M-4 series, and represent a more effective, better and much less expensive solution to our weapons needs than the XM-8 ... At a time when many of our rifles and carbines have reached the end of their service lives, replacing the uppers and magazines with H&K's M416 components would seem to be a very logical move." One evaluator paid the HK416 the ultimate compliment -- "Fantastic. If I could take any weapon out of here today to combat, it would be this one."

I hadn't thought of it that way.

I think he's the only chance that the GOP has of retaining the White House in 2008, honestly. None of the other candidates do a thing for me and quite a few things about each of them really turns me off. Thompson somewhat reminds me of Ronald Reagan, especially the way he plays up the "slow buffoon card" to the chagrin of the media and his opponents. I consider him Reagan Light because of that. I also think that with Thompson as President, we stand a good chance of having awesome sound bites when he deals with loose cannons like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Can't you just hear him using Tennessee vernacular to tell Ahmadinejad that if Iran doesn't get with the program and quick, that the US is going to "put a boot up his ass" ?

I believe it's a percentile thing based off of 50 rounds fired. That means that 48.5 of your shots made it into the black. I've never seen someone mark a shot as being with 1/2 point, but maybe you had one that barely nipped the black and was partially outside, so the instructor gave you partial credit for it.

Glad you signed up! I miss that holster; got to get one soon for the H&K.

You guys beat me to the punch. The trader rating system was found to have a fairly large security hole in it, so I've removed it from the forum for the time being. The guy who wrote the system is now MIA so it's uncertain when or if it will be updated.

Doesn't look pink here either. Who did the replating?

Mars, can you post a picture of a P3AT next to a ruler or something? I'm trying to visualize just how small that thing really is.

Ah, cool! Very glad to have you here with us. I'm loving the P2000. Great little gun!

This has now been fixed.

I think the PF9 is probably the smaller of the two, but the Kahr PM9 just looks better made to me. I've found myself thinking the same thing as you lately, and have wondered about a small revolver of some kind in .38+P or maybe .357 as an alternative to an automatic.

Welcome! You're in good company.

Looks good from here.

Only if I can get a Spetznaz guy to train me to bake s'mores off of a hot Glock barrel. I'm not saying I would kick a homeless Glock out of my safe. But I am saying that unless Glock comes up with something that takes handguns to the next level somehow, I don't see any reason to go back there and revisit old mistakes. The Glock 23 was a good firearm. It just lacked some things that I think a great firearm ought to have. I'm quite happy with the H&K P2000. It's too early to call it for sure just yet, but I have a suspicion that this will join my AR15 and my Pro CDP II as one of those that just won't be for sale or trade anytime soon.

Regarding failure to return to battery... I'd switch to using a good magazine, like Wilson Combat #47D mags (8 rd, stainless) and see if that corrects the issue. The follower on the factory mag may be a little out of spec. 1911s usually don't mind if you noodle-wrist them but also try to make a concerted effort to lock your wrists tightly. Moreso than you might with the 9mm Glock. As you've seen, the .45ACP isn't a recoil monster. I always describe the 45's recoil as being more of a push than a pop. Lubrication may have been an issue, but I honestly don't ever lube my 1911s to the extreme that some folks claim they need to be. No more than I lube my polymer guns, in fact. I think that particular bit of folklore comes from the age when so many 1911 enthusiasts were sending their guns off to be "micronized" or "accurized". The tolerances then became so tight that you couldn't squeeze a fart between the frame rails and slide. The Kimber has tight tolerances, but not that tight. It's still designed to be a fighting pistol and those don't always get the luxury of C3PO hot oil baths. Congrats again on a fine weapon! Your chances of entering the pearly gates have definitely increased exponentially now that you own one of St. Browning's offspring.

Oh... I've got a few 1911s. I consider owning tupperware to be missionary work, ministering to the lost and unenlightened.

That's awesome!!! I've got one of my son firing my AR. when he was 11.. I just need to find the file so I can upload it. He had a blast doing it and shot really, really good with it.

Oh, and least I forget... There are quite a few nice things about Glocks. Rather than have anyone think that I am anti-Glock I will state for the record that Glock has done a lot to revolutionize the firearms industry over the past 20 years. They created a product that got a lot of other manufacturers thinking about how they could improve upon their own products, and it served as a catalyst to improve the state of things considerably. They also make a good duty weapon that is affordable enough that ill funded law enforcement agencies can purchase in volume. As a good duty weapon, not much is required in terms of care or maintenance for a Glock. Those same sloppy loose tolerances that I criticize makes the Glock churn along happily even though the officer it was issued to may never so much as blow the pocket lint out of it or run a lightly oiled patch through the bore. Problem is... my H&K is just as rugged and not near as sloppy. H&K just took a different approach with their engineering and built a weapon that can shrug off abuse, be ridiculously reliable and be constructed with tighter tolerances and more of an eye toward quality. Glock's innovation stopped 20 years ago. What ground breaking thing have they done since then? Oooo... the 21SF got a shorter pull length and an ambidextrous safety. I'm sure you could argue "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" but there ought to be some evolution in their firearms other than adding finger grips and tactical rails (3rd Gen) since the other companies have done those things and a lot more since.

Had a Glock, liked the Glock, didn't care for the fact that you absolutely should not ever shoot reloads through it. Didn't care for the ****ty ergonomics of it. Didn't care for the compromises that Glock made for the sake of "reliability". Glock's idea of reliability is almost Soviet in design. The AK47 is not an elegant weapon. It's the automatic rifle equivalent of a pipe bomb. It gets the job done but it does so by having loose, sloppy tolerances so that you can pour mud through the action and still get it to go bang when you light the fuse... er... pull the trigger. That pretty much describes the Glock design philosophy to the tee. The mostly unsupported chamber allows a Glock to gobble up practically any ammunition; even ammunition that has no business being in that chamber. It's what allows them to cycle regardless of what you feed them and it's also what results in blown apart frames and bruised or bloodied hands. Me, I don't shoot many reloads yet but with the rising price of ammo I am sure I will start doing so soon. I'll pay attention to the way I dope the rounds, but mistakes can and do happen. Even with factory ammo. And when that happens, I'd prefer that my handugn take the brunt of the damage rather than my flesh. As for H&K's customer service... I've heard bad stories about everyone and I've heard good stories the same. One of the BEST customer service departments that I have ever dealt with is the one that Smith & Wesson has. Problem is, a few of their early production M&P automatics tend to get a lot of interaction with those service departments. If I never have to call H&K for something, that's going to be awesome. If I do, then I'll wait and see how their service department treats me before I get worked up over nothing. In the meantime, I'll have personal confidence in my sidearm and that's really all that matters. Well, that and the fact that it's not a Glock.

I decided to rename the Reloading Bench forum to "The Ammo Can" and change it to encompass not only reloading your own ammo but also discussing factory loaded ammo as well. We really weren't getting much traffic in it as just a reloading forum and I was concerned that another ammo related forum would likewise not get much use as well. If there ever comes a time that one subject really seems to be dominating the other, then I'll consider splitting the topics back apart.