I couldn't do that again

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Ever have one of those days where you pull off a feat you couldn't replicate no matter how hard you tried? I did yesterday. Yesterday I turned 28, and was feeling pretty good about myself. I had a nice day with the family and basically only did what I wanted to do (ah the luxury of youth). While tumbling some brass outside, I was playing with a quest 1000 pellet rifle and saw a bumble bee hovering above the lawn 12.5 yards in front of me. I proceeded to tell my father the ever famous 'watch this' line, hoping I could get close enough with a pellet to the bee to disrupt his flight.

son of a gun if I didn't cut the little guy in half.

 I could only find half of the bee in the yard. Set up was a stock quest 1000 with basic iron sights shooting gamo .177 'hunting' dome tipped pellets. I forget the weight.
I promptly put the gun away and shut my mouth- as I could never do that again without a similar amount of amazing luck.

I'm Back! and a Solarforce review

To contact us Click HERE

 My Trip to the Balkans was fantastic, but that will be a post unto itself.

Some time ago I wrote about Solarforce lights as a reasonably priced everyday carry light. The L2 lights are one of my favorite carry options, but they can be a bit large and a little on the heavy side. The are basically the legos of lights, being quite customizable. Recently, Solarforce introduced a new polymer body. So I ordered one from solarforce-sales to test out.

First the bad- the polymer body is not compatible with any of my other L2 aluminum body parts. However, they have an awful lot of good things going for them and I suspect this light is going to make it into my carry rotation quite a lot.

Emitter options are quite broad with the L2 sized body, and for this light I went with LC-XML 3.7-8v single mode power plant.  Even though this emitter rates 3.7v as the minimum- I've had no problems running 18650 3.7 rechargeable in it with great brightness and adequate battery life. I haven't done a full discharge yet, so I can't comment on total life span, but so far I'm very pleased. The focus ring is tight enough to get some good range, but there is sufficient flood to actually see what you are doing in most any setting.

I will say that I had to change the spring around the emitter to get it to run in this body, switching to an older (and shorter) spring around the emitter body. This is of little consequence to me as I have tons of spare parts around for these lights, but not everyone has a spare parts bin for all of their assorted hobbies, so be advised it could be an issue.

The polymer L2 body is noticeably lighter than the aluminum body, and does have a forward clicky / temporary on tail switch like I prefer. However, it does not balance on the tailcap like the H3 caps I prefer on the aluminum light. Being almost a half inch shorter though than the aluminum body, I think I am starting to prefer this light already over the aluminum counterpart.

Obviously, this light is solarforce's competition to the surefire G2 body, ironically, it is one of their more expensive body options, costing upwards of 20 bucks at the time of this writing. Realistically, I would consider buying one of the kits where an emitter is included instead of buying them individually - as the combination packages generally seem to offer better pricing.




At right you can see a close up of the tail-caps. Unlike the surefire G2, which turns to constant on if you screw the tail-cap down completely, the L2 polymer body allows for full thread engagement and only uses the tail-cap clicker to turn on the light. I much prefer this style, as the G2 I've played with engages accidentally far too often for my liking.






Unlike with a stock aluminum L2 body, the Polymer does not come with a crenelated bezel. I consider this a bonus, as I used to have to sink another couple bucks into each light to switch to a flat bezel that did not cut into my pockets.






The polymer L2 comes with a white opaque plastic insert to keep cr123a rechargeables and primary batteries from rattling within the body. I find that the tube is not necessary (nor compatible) with my protected 18650s, but it does work well with the primary and rechargeable cr123s I have tried.
Overall, I'm a big fan of this new body. I think it would be a no-brainer at 15 bucks, but for 20, I think it is just barely overpriced. the combo emitter / body packages though are actually pretty good deals, with good emitter, body, and belt pouch packages hovering right around 50 bucks shipped. 
Teaser pic below of the next thing to be reviewed, I know blue is excited.

best laid plans: My growing 1911 addiction

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If you have read this blog for any length of time, it is pretty obvious I am a big 1911 fan. Recently, I ordered a RIA Tactical 1911 in 9mm (Government size). This gun has generally gotten good reviews, and I had some trade fodder lying around anyway to make it happen. Total price OTD was 465 from my local shop- which is pretty awesome. Most of the time I see these go for about 500 bucks.

I'll probably take possession of it sometimes towards the end of July. Sooner if I can, but I doubt I'll have the chance to pick it up. Making this deal happen though, revitalized a former project I had wanted to undertake. As money becomes available, I'll be building a 1911 in 22lr. In my spare parts bin, I have most of the guts for a frame anyway, and I'm trying to track down a GSG 1911 22lr conversion kit. These kits run about 150-200 bucks new when they are available. I may go with an advantage arms kit if that turns out to be vaporware. The AA kits can be had for about 250 OTD, give or take.

Most likely, this project will cost as much, or slightly more than buying one of the import 22 1911 platforms, but building one just sounds like way more fun. The benefit of building a 1911 in 22lr is you do not have to fit the upper slide parts, which is good because I lack go/no go gauges, and generally don't have the gear necessary to build a slide assembly right (I lack the files, adequate vices, etc).

Putting a frame together on a 1911 however, (aside from the trigger work) is much more amenable to hand tools.  Worst case scenario, I'll be tinkering with the rails to get the kit traveling smoothly. As long as my older fire control group parts can be safely installed in the new frame, I won't dink around with the trigger pull too much on this build.

I can't really say I have any use for a 1911 in 22lr, but I suspect it will be dangerously fun and awesome. Also, I really do enjoy shooting 22lr. It is a very affordable, and enjoyable way to get trigger time- and a second 22lr pistol in addition to my Ruger mk II would mean that I could still go shooting with friends or family, and have a 22 available for both my guest and myself.

Self imposed time frame to getting the 1911 22lr completed is 1 year or less. We'll see how it goes :)

How many rounds should you carry?

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I spend a fair bit of time on gun forums. My personal favorites are Castboolits, THR.org, and M1911. I do spend time on others (like ar15.com, etc), but most of my time revolves around those first few.  JohnKSa of THR.org put together a few graphs compiling probabilities on hit rates in a personal defense shooting scenario, with a few assumptions.

The first graph plots 'chance of success' which is defined as 4 hits on target on the Y axis with total number of rounds fired on the X axis.  Each plotted line represents hit rate. Four hits was chosen, as it could mean two hits on two different attackers. That inherently carries with it the assumption that a person transitions from one target to the next with NO error in judgement, switching immediately after the second hit is scored. This graph also assumes a constant hit probability throughout the gunfight- meaning that the first shot you fire is as likely to hit its mark as the last shot you fire. 
With those assumptions in mind, we can compute the probability of a successful hit rate to a certain threshold easily. How realistic a person's probability to maintain a steady hit likelihood throughout a gunfight is admittedly quite debatable, as injury, reload time (if applicable), cover and concealment management by the self, cover and concealment management by the attacker(s),  distance to target, and  and other unkown 'unkowns' could very realistically influence that probability throughout a fight.  However, at some point we have to accept the old adage: All models are wrong, but some are useful (G.E.P. Box, Statistician) and work with what is realistically available to us. 
Graph 2 (below) Keeps chance of success on the Y axis, but now plots hit rate probability on the X axis with each line representing the number of rounds fired (PS I fucking love logistic curves, damn near everything in life can be represented by one). I find graph 2 a bit more illuminating in its grim realities. If we consider ourselves "C students" and want a 70% chance of success (success here means 4 hits- but also means survival from a dynamic critical incident), we need to obtain a 40% hit rate probability, a full 10% higher than most LEO engagements with shots fired, and to put 11 rounds in the air while Maintaining that hit rate probability throughout the whole fight.

Think about that. For chances not much better than 2 out of 3 for coming out of a fight with 2 targets 'the winner', you need to get 11 good rounds in the air that EACH have a 40% chance of striking home. So how many rounds should you carry? It depends. The plural of anecdote isn't data, but then again Las Vegas runs on probabilities. For me, its 15 rounds. If I carry my J-frame, I carry 2 speed strips (I used to only carry 1). If I carry a 1911, it is at least 1 spare mag.

Always keep in mind though, if ever you need to defend yourself with a firearm, KNOW that if you can't get some good COVER, not concealment pretty early on in the fight, or your family will be reading a eulogy in your honor with a big emphasis on bravery.

Happy Independence Day

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As I have done in the past, here is the entire US National Anthem, unabridged. Please enjoy a safe and happy day with friends and family.

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming.
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming.
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave

I couldn't do that again

To contact us Click HERE
Ever have one of those days where you pull off a feat you couldn't replicate no matter how hard you tried? I did yesterday. Yesterday I turned 28, and was feeling pretty good about myself. I had a nice day with the family and basically only did what I wanted to do (ah the luxury of youth). While tumbling some brass outside, I was playing with a quest 1000 pellet rifle and saw a bumble bee hovering above the lawn 12.5 yards in front of me. I proceeded to tell my father the ever famous 'watch this' line, hoping I could get close enough with a pellet to the bee to disrupt his flight.

son of a gun if I didn't cut the little guy in half.

 I could only find half of the bee in the yard. Set up was a stock quest 1000 with basic iron sights shooting gamo .177 'hunting' dome tipped pellets. I forget the weight.
I promptly put the gun away and shut my mouth- as I could never do that again without a similar amount of amazing luck.

I'm Back! and a Solarforce review

To contact us Click HERE

 My Trip to the Balkans was fantastic, but that will be a post unto itself.

Some time ago I wrote about Solarforce lights as a reasonably priced everyday carry light. The L2 lights are one of my favorite carry options, but they can be a bit large and a little on the heavy side. The are basically the legos of lights, being quite customizable. Recently, Solarforce introduced a new polymer body. So I ordered one from solarforce-sales to test out.

First the bad- the polymer body is not compatible with any of my other L2 aluminum body parts. However, they have an awful lot of good things going for them and I suspect this light is going to make it into my carry rotation quite a lot.

Emitter options are quite broad with the L2 sized body, and for this light I went with LC-XML 3.7-8v single mode power plant.  Even though this emitter rates 3.7v as the minimum- I've had no problems running 18650 3.7 rechargeable in it with great brightness and adequate battery life. I haven't done a full discharge yet, so I can't comment on total life span, but so far I'm very pleased. The focus ring is tight enough to get some good range, but there is sufficient flood to actually see what you are doing in most any setting.

I will say that I had to change the spring around the emitter to get it to run in this body, switching to an older (and shorter) spring around the emitter body. This is of little consequence to me as I have tons of spare parts around for these lights, but not everyone has a spare parts bin for all of their assorted hobbies, so be advised it could be an issue.

The polymer L2 body is noticeably lighter than the aluminum body, and does have a forward clicky / temporary on tail switch like I prefer. However, it does not balance on the tailcap like the H3 caps I prefer on the aluminum light. Being almost a half inch shorter though than the aluminum body, I think I am starting to prefer this light already over the aluminum counterpart.

Obviously, this light is solarforce's competition to the surefire G2 body, ironically, it is one of their more expensive body options, costing upwards of 20 bucks at the time of this writing. Realistically, I would consider buying one of the kits where an emitter is included instead of buying them individually - as the combination packages generally seem to offer better pricing.




At right you can see a close up of the tail-caps. Unlike the surefire G2, which turns to constant on if you screw the tail-cap down completely, the L2 polymer body allows for full thread engagement and only uses the tail-cap clicker to turn on the light. I much prefer this style, as the G2 I've played with engages accidentally far too often for my liking.






Unlike with a stock aluminum L2 body, the Polymer does not come with a crenelated bezel. I consider this a bonus, as I used to have to sink another couple bucks into each light to switch to a flat bezel that did not cut into my pockets.






The polymer L2 comes with a white opaque plastic insert to keep cr123a rechargeables and primary batteries from rattling within the body. I find that the tube is not necessary (nor compatible) with my protected 18650s, but it does work well with the primary and rechargeable cr123s I have tried.
Overall, I'm a big fan of this new body. I think it would be a no-brainer at 15 bucks, but for 20, I think it is just barely overpriced. the combo emitter / body packages though are actually pretty good deals, with good emitter, body, and belt pouch packages hovering right around 50 bucks shipped. 
Teaser pic below of the next thing to be reviewed, I know blue is excited.