The morality of self defense

In one way or another I have been armed since I was old enough to have my own .22 rifle. When I was of age I applied for and received a carry permit, and have held one most of my years since then. Truth be told, permit or not I have always had a weapon near me, as long as I can remember.

Since I grew up with weapons as tools, the morality of being armed was never raised as an issue. You had a chain saw to cut wood, and you had a firearm to defend yourself. You learned to use the chainsaw safely because you would need the skill as a capable adult. For the same reason you learned to shoot well and safely keep a weapon, as defending oneself is what a capable adult does. Personal responsibility demands one be able to do what’s needed, and be able to use the tools to meet that need. Anything less is a failure to oneself, ones loved ones, and ones community.

Later, in adult years, as introspection grew and answers to life’s questions were sought, I faced the issue of self defense. After carrying a weapon for years I finally took the time to ask myself why, and took the time to reason out an answer, or at least one of them.

I carry a weapon because it is the moral thing to do. It meets with my definition of doing ‘right’. Being prepared to defend myself and loved ones is part of being a responsible person.

Please allow me to explain…

I believe people have a ‘moral obligation’ to take responsibility for themselves, not leaving the task as a burden to others. I know this may not be a popular concept in some circles, but that doesn't change it as my belief. I know we are laden with entire generations of people who honestly think they bear no responsibility for their own safety, well being, and actions. I interact with such people every day.

I choose not to be one of those people.

I carry a weapon for much the same reasons as I usually have a pocket knife and a flashlight around me. These are all tools I may need to take care of myself and pull my own weight. To think of them other than tools is silly. Everything a man lays his hands on to complete a task is a tool, and no morality can possibly reside in the inanimate objects we use.

Why not leave my personal defense to ‘The Authorities’? For several reasons, as I’ll explain.

It’s simply not possible for any government authority to defend my person. There is no arguing this point. Even in the most restrictive environments imaginable, our federal prison system, there are daily physical attacks resulting in death and injury. There is no ‘civilized’ society in the world where government authority has been able to protect and defend the individual citizen from criminals bent on harm. There is an element, a breed, of humans who live as predators on their fellow humans, and they reside next door to each of us. No amount of authority can take on the task of defending the individual, no matter how well meaning. If it must be done, then I must do it myself.

This notion of ‘The Authorities’ is often a nebulous one, with folks forgetting that government service is peopled with humans no different than ourselves. Good and bad, competent and worthless, our government mirrors our population and that should cause a moments thought. When I call on the police to help me, what am I really doing? I am asking my neighbor to put his life on the line for my needs. Perhaps not when simply investigating a break in or calming a troubled situation, but often enough when danger calls. For an unreasonably small handful of dollars I should expect the officer to arrive with weapon in hand and interpose himself between trouble and I? Is this right?

It’s here that morality raises its ugly head. How can I ask my neighbor to risk his life for me when I am not willing to do so for myself? How can I in good conscience expect an officer to care more for my loved ones and me, than I do myself?

I was raised understanding that a man did for himself, and only asked for help when he had to. This went hand in hand with the idea that you always helped your neighbor when they asked, because they wouldn’t ask if they didn’t really need it. That and it was part of the contract that they would be there when you asked in return. This contract has fallen by the wayside in our society, in many places. Too many now demand ‘help’ with every problem real or perceived, and too many honestly believe that ‘help’ is owed them by society for some unknown reason. Far too often, ‘help’ is defined as ‘Someone come and do this for me because I don’t want to!’

I carry a weapon because I believe a person has a moral responsibility to take care of themselves and not be a burden on others. The pistol I carry on my belt, and the rifle stored in my safe, are nothing more than tools needed to meet my responsibility. This is not a responsibility that can be relieved by some fool wishing it so and announcing it.

It’s a moral obligation that can only be self imposed, self delivered, and self administered.

New shooter... first range day... gently it goes

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Today I had the joy of guiding a new shooter through her first range experience. This is something most crusty old shooters enjoy doing, passing along a little knowledge and sharing the kindness most people in the sport have known from fellow enthusiasts.

We started with safety, as any new shooter should. In this case, an explanation of the 'Four Rules':

1. Treat every weapon as if it's loaded at all times.
2. Never point the weapon at anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger till you are ready to fire.
4. Always be sure of your backstop.

In explaining the meaning of these rules, it went like this....

1) It's safest to treat every firearm as loaded, even when having just checked that it's clear. This builds handling habits that help prevent accidents. When a shooter instinctively keeps his muzzle pointed in a safe direction, the chances of someone being hurt in an accidental shooting drop dramatically.

2) Firearms are dangerous. It's that simple. Understanding this cuts the risk of harmful accidents tremendously. Dangerous does not mean harmful, if the risk is understood and planned for. A table saw is incredibly dangerous, but need never be harmful if used properly. Firearms are no different. Don't point a weapon at something you would not destroy, and don't put something into a running saw one don't wish to cut off.

3) Firearms are designed to fire when the trigger is pulled. Most will never fire till this happens. So...... keep fingers off the trigger till one want it to go off! Obeying the other rules will help assure that a weapon firing due to a malfunction does not harm anyone, as rare as that possibility is.

4) When a weapon is fired, something comes out the barrel. Be it shot or single projectile, it can kill or damage someone. If the shooter is aware where that shot will go, from leaving the barrel till its final resting spot, then it's a safe shot. If the shooter is unaware where the projectile will come to rest, then the shot should not be taken. Ranges are designed with berms and backstops so shooters can be reasonably sure where the bullet will rest after being fired.

After the recitation of the four rules, and explanation... the shooter is quizzed to be sure there is understanding. Not grilled.... just quizzed to show they have taken root. I have found it helps to explain it like this: "If the rules are followed all the time, then shooting is safer than driving a car or riding a bicycle. If any two of the rules are broken at the same time, then someone could be hurt or killed. It's that simple." In every case, the new shooter can be seen running through the combination's of rule-breaking in their mind, checking this claim. This serves to drive the point home.

Once at the range, before anything else happens... I added only one more rule. Its a simple range command, and the only one I expect a new shooter to learn on their first range day with a one on one coach. Its the word 'Muzzle', which means immediately point the muzzle at the ground and take the finger from the trigger. If this is practiced, most any problem or bad situation can be recovered from once the muzzle is down and the trigger clear. It helps the new shooter feel confidence as well, that such a simple act can make the situation safe till any issues are resolved and new lessons learned.

With this young lady, we chose to begin with silhouette targets. They are big, instinctive, and fun for new shooters. Firing from the fifteen yard line, they loom large and are hard to miss. It's important for a shooters first range experience to be enjoyable, and for some success to be found. Nothing is more depressing for a beginner than to be given a short barreled pistol and instructed to plug away at small target way the heck down range, only to find it untouched during the all clear. Even an experienced shooter would be unhappy at this, but at least might understand what to do about it. A new shooter will likely just assume they can't shoot very well, and few people enjoy doing things they perform poorly at.

Like generations before her, this shooter began with a .22 pistol. In this case a JC Higgens model of a High Standard Duramatic. Reliable and easy to shoot well, it has no noticeable recoil and is easy to handle. It points instinctively, has a decent trigger, and clear target sights. This leaves the shooter with less technique to learn on the first day, giving room for an easy and fun filled experience on the all important first range day.

A few simple illustrations show sight picture, and firing at a silhouette target from the fifteen yard line gives instant feedback on impact points. Sight correction is almost instinctive with that, and most shooters will naturally experiment a bit moving the sights around and seeing what it does to the bullets impact.

Today, my young lady managed to land her first shot dead center of the target, and quickly planted groups at both heart and head levels of the silhouette. This was greeted with a smile nearly as big as the group.

Moving up in size, but only as she seemed to wish for something more exciting, we explored what a .38 snub nose can do. Having established sight picture and trigger squeeze with the .22 semiauto, the snubby allowed us to discuss grip techniques as well. Again, using a silhouette target at short range, she fired several cylinder loads. The results were encouraging, and showed her she could certainly shoot defensively at household ranges and expect to hit her target. That is an important step for a new shooter.


Pulling her target from the backstop, I took a few moments to make a notation on it . "First day at the range!, 12-11-09". Handed to the young lady with a smile and a nod of respect, it's likely to become a tangible reminder of the day an enjoyable new pastime began. Even if it was thirty degrees today, with a twenty mile an hour cross breeze.

Brrrrrrrrrrr................

After she handed over shooting pistols for shooting her camera, I took some time to practice with my carry pistol. Practicing draw fire with frozen fingers, the Glock 30 performed flawlessly, sending its big .45 slugs into center mass on the silhouette target.

Today will be repeated as many times as this young lady wishes, with safe and enjoyable shooting as the goal. One day it might be more serious training, but for now we can count one more new shooter to the ranks, and that's something to be celebrated.

Glock 30 update....

Another 200 rounds went downrange this morning from the Glock 30. It was a flawless display, with not one hiccup for me to report on. Even the hotter .45acp hand loads were handled with aplomb and grace, and the weapon is very easy to control.

It's boring to have nothing to report on but perfection. I've been carrying the pistol every day since it's first range session, and have perhaps 1000 rounds through by now. So far, my one and only complaint is that Crimson Trace does not make a laser for the G-30 SF model yet, and won't even review the idea for at least three months (CT engineers only meets quarterly to discuss new models).

It's a smoothly functioning machine, almost boring in it's predictability and dependability. Exactly what one desires in a defensive weapon.

I approve.

On another note, today I discovered that my cheapo paper plate targets offer me a training option at the range. If I attach them to the backer with just the very edge of the clothespin, the target falls off after just a few hits. That means I hit it, it falls down, and I move on to the next target which is a royal pain in the behind until I call it a reactive target and shoot it as such.

"Bang bang bang (fall down) transition.. Bang bang bang (fall down)..... he he... impromptu and cheap fun. The other folks in the next bay looked around the berm, saw all the trouble I was having keeping my targets stuck up there, and offered me more clothes pins........

I don't think they understood why I was laughing.

Dealing with Flinch... one method (Repost)

(This re-post is the result of a recent range session. I was helping a new shooter with some minor issues, and I recalled writing this over a year ago. Perhaps it will help someone......)




Today I got a chance at some range time, and thought I might discuss working on basic shooting schools. In this case, flinching and failure drills.

Dr Helen posted about a gun-bloggers get together. (It sounded like a great time had by all!) In her posting she mentioned an issue with flinching, and that started me thinking.

Flinch, or what might also be called 'anticipating the shot' is a problem where accuracy is concerned. In bad cases, it can can throw shots right off the target. With long arm or pistol, it can happen to anyone. It occurs when the shooter becomes conscious of the recoil, and reacts to it before it even happens. Rather than letting the weapon recoil naturally, the shooter pushes into it, throwing off the round before it ever leaves the barrel.

In it's very worst incarnation, a shooter can actually be scared of the recoil, and 'flinch' can be massive. While most every shooter can physically handle most any small arm within reason, a horrendous flinch, once learned, can be seriously difficult to get rid of. It may be one of the most common reasons new shooters, who started out with too large a weapon and poor training, give up the sport.

New shooters should usually start with small caliber weapons, so skills can be worked on without having to deal with recoil. The classic for this role is the trusty old .22. Cheap, quiet, accurate, and with almost no recoil at all, it's the traditional way for new shooters to learn.

Highly experienced shooters often return to the .22 for target, plinking, and solid skills practice. Some shooters never leave it behind in the first place!

Here is a short video demonstrating the offending act. The pistol is a large, heavy, magnum, often found at the source of flinching. Notice the muzzle drop as the hammer falls on an empty chamber.... that is flinch.



I'm happy to say... I did that on purpose. I worked through most of my 'flinch' issues long ago. That said, even the slightest bit is harmful to precise shooting.

The video itself shows a useful way of working on shooting skills. Just the same as all major athletes review video of themselves, there is something very helpful in seeing ourselves in action. A watchful coach on hand can point out problems and solutions, but actually seeing yourself is priceless.

There are a number of ways to train away a flinch. Classic among them is simple dry firing. With an unloaded weapon, and no ammunition in the room, preferably by yourself, and with a safe bullet absorbent wall... (get the idea that safety is important?), now choose a small point on the wall at comfortable height. Aim at that point, practicing squeezing the trigger. Ideally, the sights should not waver as the striker/hammer impacts. Pictures are good, but just a tiny piece of tape will suit fine.

This is particularly dramatic over a distance of twenty feet or so, with a laser on the weapon. Watching that red dot dance can be very instructive! Do this kind of dry fire practice daily if possible. Even ten minutes a day of trigger and sight practice can prove very effective.

Now, some methods of flinch training on the range are the subject here. So... lets see a couple that work.

First, and a classic, is to load a revolver with the occasional empty chamber. Either have a partner do so, where you can't see, or do so yourself and spin the cylinder. Coming up on an empty chamber unexpectedly can reveal a flinch dramatically to the shooter.



In this video, played at slow motion, watching carefully at the muzzle will show some flinch as the empty chambers come under the hammer....



Again, instructive by itself, doubly educational with a video of yourself to watch. Honesty insists.... I was not trying to show a flinch that time... what you see is real.

Now, naturally this won't work with an autoloader. Not really.
Sure, for maybe one at a time, with someone else loading for you and handing you the weapon. It can help, but it's certainly slow and not much fun

More preferential, and more effective, is to purchase some action testing plastic dummy rounds for the weapon. These are inexpensive, and quite safe. They can also be known as 'snap caps', but those are more likely to be mechanical in nature with a spring loaded mechanism to reduce firing pin impact.
Action proving dummy rounds are solid plastic, cheap, and will function through a magazine just like a loaded factory round. They can be ordered for most all common pistol, and most rifle, calibers.





Placing these intermittently in a loaded magazine will serve the same function as empty chambers in a revolver. At certain times the pistol will go 'click' instead of bang. If flinch is an issue, it will become apparent at that time. Again, video helps tremendously.

Using these dummy rounds in a magazine also allows another skill to be practiced at the same time.... the 'failure drill'.

What happens when your autoloader fails to fire as expected? All click, no bang... and that can be a sinking feeling. It need not be that big an issue if the failure drill is practiced. Also called a 'Tap and Rack', the magazine is given a smack to make sure it's seated and the offending round is racked out of the chamber, a new one being stripped in when the slid is released.

Here it is in action.... and no laughing please.... I'm trying to be helpful here...



Whatever method is chosen, flinch is certainly possible to overcome. If these methods don't help, a good shooting coach will know many more. No matter what... never give up!

CCW carry ammunition poll

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Please note the poll on the sidebar. It's the result of a conversation I had today, and carries no scientific value. You may choose more than one answer....

Thanks!

Carteach0

The Glock 30 in .45acp, a review and comparison

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Here in Carteach0 land, carry pistols have varied little over the years. In fact, they amount to three choices, depending on various factors. A Colt Combat Commander in .45acp, a Taurus model 85 snubby in .38 special, and a Smith + Wesson M+P 9c compact 9mm. 95% of the time the M+P won the draw, and was in my holster as I left the house.

The M+P has features I approve of in a carry pistol. Ease of operation tops the list, as it has no external safeties to deal with. The only controls that need be learned are the trigger, the magazine release, and the slide release. The M+P is also as reliable as any autoloader, and better than most. It gobbles up just about any ammunition, both factory and hand loads, and shoots them straight. It’s an accurate pistol… very accurate considering its size.

One builder glaringly missing from the CCW list is Glock, a pistol chosen by a great many people as their carry and duty weapon. A lot of folks swear by the Glock, speaking of unending dependability and ease of service. A few people swear at the Glock, calling it a plastic brick, and giving it the nickname ‘The Block’.

For most of my shooting life I fell squarely in the second group. The Glock series of pistols felt odd in my hand, and didn’t point instinctively. When I was young, my friends did a group buy on model 17’s, way back when they first came out. I opted out of the buy… and stuck with my old Colt. I still have the Colt, but their Glocks were sold or traded long ago. It wasn’t that I had anything against the Glock pistols…. they just felt wrong to my hand, and rather toy like.

Perhaps it was the years of experience with the S+W M+P, but the last time I looked at a cabinet full of Glocks, I didn’t turn away. Asking to handle a few of them, I found the new ‘SF’ models have a redesigned frame, and suddenly the Glock didn’t feel quite so ‘wrong’. Looking further, I encountered the Glock Model 30. It’s a compact CCW or backup pistol with a double stack magazine holding ten rounds of…. Oh My! The one true caliber! My old favorite, the beloved .45 acp.

Comparing the Mdl 30 to the M+P 9c on my belt, I found them to be akin in size. The Glock is slightly stockier, and slightly thicker, but only just barely. For man with big hands, as I have, the chunkier grip is welcome. The M+P 9c holds 13 rounds of 9x19mm, while the Glock 30 holds 11 rounds of .45acp (ten in the magazine and one in the pipe). Both come with decent sights, and both are available with night sights. Crimson Trace makes lasers for both as well.

The triggers are also comparable, with a slight nod to the M+P in crispness. Still, the new model Glock has a decent trigger, and is quite controllable in let off.

Both pistols have a minimum of external controls. The M+P has a take down lever on the left side, while the Glock uses the miniscule tabs on both sides of the frame. Other than that, they offer the same manual of arms. Immediately noted was the firmness of the magazine release on the Glock, as compared to the S+W. The M+P compact has had issues with magazine drops due to the design of the magazine catch. Clearly that is not an issue for the Glock, as it takes a firm gesture to release the magazine. It does not feel like it could happen accidentally.

Speaking of magazines… the M+P uses a steel magazine with a plastic base, while the Glock uses an all plastic magazine with a steel inner liner. The M+P magazine is easy to load, but the Glock…. is not. The tenth round going into the Glock magazine can be a real struggle. On the other hand, the Glock 30 feeds that ammunition as surely as night follows day, so the spring tension must work out just fine.

Shooting on the range, I found the M+P to be a pleasure as always. Easy to shoot well, accurate, and almost eager to put the bullet right where the shooter intends. The Glock, on the other hand, turned out to be a real surprise to this old skeptic. I had expected fair accuracy, and fair shootability considering it’s a small sized pistol firing a fairly large bullet. What I found instead was astounding accuracy, rivaling the Colt Commander. The Glock 30 also manages to absorb the recoil pulse in such a way as to make repeat shots relatively easy. All in all, a very pleasant surprise was dished up by the little Glock.

I managed to try two brands of factory ammunition in the Glock, and six different hand loads. It cycled all without a hitch. Even rather warm hand loads pushing Berries plated bullets turned out to be accurate, and that was a real surprise as well. The Glock uses polygonal rifling, and the company states categorically that only jacketed bullets are to be used. The Berries bullet is plated soft lead, and there was some doubt as whether they’d shoot in the Glock. Not only did they shoot well, but the bore looked pristine after fifty rounds of the snappy hand load.

In a blatant attempt to force a misfeed, I even shot a few dozen rounds loaded with the old Speer 200 grain hollow point. Dubbed ‘The Flying Ashtray’, these bullets had the largest

hollow point ever seen in a factory bullet. No longer available, Speer now sells the excellent line of ‘Gold Dot’ bullets instead.

The Glock digested the Speer ashtrays, and as if to sneer right back at me, spit the old style bullets into its tightest group yet. The bullet holes clumped together in a cluster just half the apparent width of the front sight from the fifty foot bench I was leaning on.

In roughly two hundred rounds of testing, the Glock 30 did not suffer one feeding or functional glitch. This was new from the box, as Glock delivers their pistols properly lubed and ready to go. I did nothing more than run a dry patch through the bore.

The Glock 30 is not without its detractors. Some owners of the SF (short frame) model have run into a problem with the slide rubbing on the trigger bar. I intentionally did not clean this example through several range sessions in order to let evidence accumulate. On stripping the pistol down, I did see a tiny shiny spot on the trigger bar where some have described it. It’s very slight indeed, and I doubt will be a problem so bad that a little polishing won’t cure it.

Cleaning is fairly easy with the Glock, and take down requires no tools. It does require brains, and a careful attention to detail. It's not that the procedure is complicated, but that it requires pulling the trigger to release the striker. Obviously, if this done with a round in the chamber bad things may happen. Not the least of which is embarrassment, and someone could easily be injured or killed. The answer? Just be smarter than a rock, and check to be sure the weapon is not loaded!

In holsters, a Dun Hume designed for the Glock is on order, but in the meantime I found it fits perfectly in the Galco JAK slide I used for both my M+P and my Commander. The pistol carries well, and does not drag down the belt at all. The chubby little spare magazine easily drops into a pocket, giving a total of twenty one rounds on hand. This compares well to the twenty five the M+P 9c offered, with a spare magazine. Given that it’s twenty one rounds of proven bad guy stopping .45acp…. that’s comforting indeed.

Regarding the subject of caliber and carry weapons, I refuse to enter the debate. My own thoughts are quite simple…. Any weapon is better than no weapon, any hit is better than any miss, and bigger bullets are always better. But… there is that old adage… “A 9mm might expand to .45, but a .45 will never shrink to 9mm”. I will say that the .45acp is one caliber that I don’t feel under-gunned with when carrying full metal jacket round nose slugs. Even these low tech bullets have a good stopping history in the .45acp.

To wrap the story up… the Glock 30 feels decent, shoots very straight, and if it lives up to the tradition of Glock dependability, it will join my list of regular carry pistols.

The Sig Sauer Mosquito: Plastic need not be evil

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Standing at the cabinet 'o smaller semiautomatic pistols in the gun shop, I had a number of choices arrayed before me. With a .22 target/plinking pistol in mind, the shop keeper laid on the counter the usual suspects from Ruger, Browning, and S+W. All had their good points and bad, but something whispered to me "Look again....". Another .22 still resided under the glass, and it was one I had missed at first glance. A Sig Sauer Mosquito in two tone, with silvered slide and black frame.

The Mosquito is a double action .22 rimfire semi-auto built by Sig to duplicate the feel of their P226 and P220 model pistols. Brought in at 90% of full size for those models, the Mosquito has controls and functions that match it's big brothers. The only control that does not match is the safety. The Mosquito has a slide mounted thumb safety lever, while it's slightly larger brothers do not. There is no requirement to use the slide mounted safety, and it can be ignored if desired. The decocking lever safely lowers the hammer, just as it does on most other Sig's.

Looking at the specifications, it quickly becomes apparent the Mosquito may be 90% the size of a P226, but it's a 98% duplication of the size and shape of the P229 9mm compact double stack carry pistol. This makes for an interesting possible combination; the P229 for defensive or concealed duty carry, with the Mosquito for low cost and plentiful practice.

The Mosquito seems to have been built with several ideas in mind. One is clearly the adherence to clunky old Sig Sauer solid dependability. Another, a target of meeting the training needs of those who own the bigger centerfire pistols but desire a matching .22 for practice. Lastly, the pistol appears to have been built with the motto "If it can be made of polymer, do so!"

The frame is plastic, as so many pistols are today, but Sig went far beyond that. The sights, hammer, trigger, mag release, magazine, and even the barrel are plastic (the barrel has a steel liner). The pistol has a great deal in common with the plastic box it comes in.

The pistol is mounted with an external safety key, but it's fairly well hidden. Almost unnoticeable, behind the magazine well on the butt is a small hole with a flat blade in it. The pistol comes with a key to turn the blade. One direction activates the pistol, the other deactivates it. The pistol also comes with what appears to be a red plastic empty chamber flag that can be inserted into the chamber. Reading the manual discloses the flag also doubles as a clever 'dry fire' plug to protect the chamber mouth from the firing pin.

The sights appear to fixed, but are actually designed to be adjusted. The rear sight has a set screw, and loosening it allows the simple and rugged slotted sight to be adjusted left or right. The front blade is fixed, but unique in my experience the pistol comes with two additional extra sights. All three are different heights, and once the best ammunition is chosen the proper sight can be installed to match it's point of impact. The sights are 'three dot', with tiny but bright yellow inserts installed in them.

Field stripping for cleaning is amazingly easy. With the magazine removed and the pistol assured as empty, the take down lever is simply rotated 180 degrees. At that point the slide is pulled rearward and lifted up off the frame guides, and then allowed forward. This leaves the frame with barrel attached, the slide, and a recoil spring with a guide. That is all the is required for normal cleaning.

It should be noted the pistol also comes with a spare recoil spring, and the simple field stripping is all that's required to change it. The extra spring is of a different rate, and can be used to tune the pistol to the ammunition chosen. To me, this demonstrates an understanding that .22 rimfire ammunition varies significantly, and erratically. Changing recoil springs on a blowback pistol is the simplest way to tune one, but getting different springs can be problematic. It's nice that Sig thought ahead on this.

Just for fun, there is also a heavy keyed security lock that comes with the Mosquito. It has a padded chain that's long enough to install down the barrel and back into the Master style padlock. What's slightly humorous about the lock is this: it may contain more steel than the pistol itself does.

The magazine is plastic, but fairly well built. It is also the source of the only problem encountered with the pistol during it's first range experience. The very first round ever chambered in the pistol misfed, with the bullet hitting the back of the barrel instead of being guided into the chamber. There was only one more feed failure during the first one hundred rounds fired, and that was the final round in a magazine that launched itself from the ejection port, rather than chamber. It was found in the shooters shirt pocket, still unfired and unmarked.

A nice feature the Mosquito has, and one not assured on all .22 autos, is a magazine slide lock. The slide remains open on an empty magazine, just as it does with it's larger siblings.

For some reason, Sig Sauer regards the magazine as an exceptionally valuable article. The pistol comes with only one, and Sig wants $44 for an extra one. Midway USA has the same magazine in stock for $10 cheaper, but that is still a little pricey. Spares will be purchased, but not too many of them.

Fired for the first time on the range, the results are quite favorable. Where I have run into new Ruger MkIII's that required hundred of rounds of break in to begin functioning decently, the Mosquito began cranking out target after target with very few function issues. Only the two feed problems previously mentioned, and nothing else of exception to note. It may help that Sig Sauer includes with the pistol a $10 coupon on four boxes of CCI Mini-Mag rimfire ammunition. This helps people make the proper choice of breaking in the pistol with quality ammunition, rather than bulk pack cheaper offerings. Sig includes a card with the pistol noting that it's been tested with CCI Mini-Mags and functions well with them. The same card also specifies a special lube point, and that the pistol needs to be regularly cleaned and lubricated. It always amazes me how many folks will take a new pistol out of the box, never clean it, and complain about function. These things are machines, and need care to operate correctly.

Accuracy wise, the Mosquito performed as expected. For a light weight short barreled .22 new out of the box, the pistol grouped decently. The first fifty foot group from the bench was under four inches, and when the trigger was mastered that shrunk to a little over two inches. It's not a 'target' pistol really, but much better suited to defensive practice, and the accuracy is more than adequate for the job.

More to the point, the Sig Mosquito immediately and naturally fell into it's niche of being a low cost training pistol. It fit the CCW belt holster perfectly, and the functionality of the pistol allowed for an excellent practice session. Over 100 rounds were fired in draw/double tap drills in the span of half an hour. With the 9x19mm, this would have meant an ammunition cost of about $40. With the Mosquito, it cost only about $6, and that's with premium rimfire ammunition.

I am becoming enamored with the idea of a rimfire pistol that exactly matches the size and function of my carry pistol. I can foresee a Sig Sauer P229 in my future as a CCW weapon. While my S+W M+P 9c has been a steady companion for several years, it has a few drawbacks the P229 would neatly solve. Add in the idea of low cost practice with the mosquito, and it becomes a winning combination.

Reading owner reviews on the 'Net, the Mosquito generally gets poor marks. Comments about feed failures with various ammunition, a trigger not up to match standards, and the fact that it's made of plastic and pot metal. All that taken into account, if the feed issues can be solved by using proper ammunition, then the other problems are more of expectation than manufacture. The mosquito is not a target pistol, and it's certainly not intended to last through several generations of shooters. It is made of cheaper materials, and this is reflected in the low cost. What it does have going for it is ergonomics. It's built as a low cost trainer for the Sig duty pistols, and for that function it seems to fit the bill. If Sig made one of quality steel and charged a few hundred dollars more, I'd rather have that, but they don't.

There will be a high quality .22 pistol in my future, of that I am sure. I have my eye on a K-22 as I write this..... but for now, this little Sig hits the mark as a training pistol that's cheap to buy, and cheap to feed. Stay tuned as a I wear it in, and attempt to wear it out. More reports are coming......






(Bit of an update....)

Looking at Sig's web site, I have discovered they do indeed have full size and high quality rimfire pistols built to exactly match their carry pistols. They also have rimfire conversion kits to fit most of their carry pistols. This is promising!

As for the Mosquito... I'm going to try and wear it out, while reporting on the progress as I go. We shall sort out the 'I heard' from the reality soon enough. Will it hold up to thousands of rounds on the range? Or.... will it prove to be a FTF waiting to happen? Stay tuned!

Woodchucks everywhere are quaking in fear...

.Or maybe that's 'Shaking in laughter'.

Yesterday I pulled a trusted old Savage FVSS from the safe and toted it down to the range for a bench session. It's one of the originals, without the Acutrigger, chambered in 22-250. I bought the rifle new, many years ago, and am rather proud to say it's never seen a factory loaded cartridge. I still have the first target ever fired with the rifle, using a load built on speculation. The group measures under .5", and reminds me still why I swore never to let this rifle slip through my hands.

The old Savage has a 1 in 12" twist rate, and like most 22-250's prefers lighter bullets. The load I most often fall back on is a 52 grain Sierra hollow point skipping along at just under 3700 FPS. No, it's not lighting any grass fires, but it's reliably accurate and easy on the barrel. More importantly, it's perfect for the 300-400 yard woodchuck shooting I use the rifle for.

I've found the rifle will also shoot 55 grain Nosler Ballistic tips in the same load to the same point of aim, with substantially the same trajectory. That's handy, especially now when loading supplies are just a little iffy at times.

The optics.... a Barska 6.5x20x target dot model that I'm more than pleased with. For an inexpensive scope it's got some great features, and is very bright and clear. When shooting this rifle/scope combination I can usually just leave my spotting scope packed up. The Barska target scope gives me a better defined and clearer picture than the 40x spotting scope.

There's something special about shooting tight groups at longer ranges. The big range was shut down yesterday in favor of the trap shooters, so I made do with little groups at 100 yards. Trying to make all the holes touch... balancing breath and heartbeat against wind and heat... that carries it's own challenges. Each shot leaving it's mark on the paper, joy and sorrow measured by tenths of an inch. Twitching the muzzle only a few thousandths will toss the shot an inch wide of the mark... so everything must come into perfect alignment. Body, mind, and rifle blur together as each bullet is launched towards the tiny target.

Sight focus and prescription glasses

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As I get older, my eyesight grows worse. Perhaps too many hours at a computer screen, maybe it's the hundreds and hundreds of books I stick my nose in... maybe just genetics. In any case, I now need glasses to read where ten years ago I could stare down a cat with my steely focus.

The thing is.... a rifle's sights fall into the range where everything blurs for me, both front and rear. This presents a problem when it comes time to actually hit a target, rather than just frightening the ink off the bullseye. Not just me, but almost everyone else who needs glasses to read.

The classic answer is to switch over to scoped rifles. This eliminates the need to focus on three different planes in the same event, and allows precise aiming. Sadly, the rules of our high power match do not allow this, even for old farts like me. They do allow the use of a single prescription lens built into a peep sight, or a widget that sticks to the shooting glasses and presents a tiny precision hole to sight through. I don't especially like either solution, one altering my rifle, and the other just looking weird.

I know the real answer is to seek out the help of an optometrist who understands the needs of a rifleman. I've heard of one not far away, and who comes highly recommended. Seeing him is on my soon-to-do list. Till then, I wanted to try a little experiment; Shooting with my reading glasses on.

The time honored main method of precision shooting with open sights is to focus first on the rear sight, and then the front, bringing them in alignment. Next the focus shifts to the target, aligning the sights to it, and then the final focus is all front sight, letting the minds natural tendency to line up points take over. Aperture, or 'peep', sights work differently. In those the rear sight just remains a blurred circle, and the mind/eye will automatically try to place the front sight directly in the middle.

To someone who wears glasses to read, without them the rear sight is out of focus, and for some of us the front sight is as well. This makes aiming accurately very difficult. I noticed that both sights come easily into focus while I'm wearing my glasses, and I wondered how well I might shoot that way. Towards that end, an hour at the range with a very accurate open sighted .22 seemed in order.

Going through fifty rounds while making five shot groups, I discovered something interesting. At the fifty yard target line I was able to cut my group size almost in half while wearing reading glasses. Yes, the target was out of focus, but the front sight was sharp and clear.

Moving out to 100 yards, the results took a new twist and group size evened out considerably. I think this was caused more by my poor shooting ability, and the gusty breezes pushing the little .22 bullets around.

I'll just have to go back and repeat the test using one of my 8mm Mausers. Awe Shucks..... that means more time at the range shooting big guns. Rats.

Reloading tip: Cracked nickel cases

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(click on the photo to enlarge)

There is some question about nickel cases and premature cracking from multiple reloading. Does it happen? A resounding.... Yes. Is it a real problem? Maybe.

The .45acp cases pictured above are of several brands, and all were found to be cracked during examination while reloading. They are in a batch of roughly 500 well used cased of about the same vintage, and have all seen roughly the same loadings.

While the nickel cases in this batch are showing cracking about five times as often as the plain brass cases, it might be worth noting the wear on the cases. This brass has been reloaded in excess of twenty times..... and owes the shooter nothing. As can be seen, it's been through the process so many times the nickel plating is actually wearing off the cases.

I take away two points from this situation:

• I will not hesitate to reload nickel cases when I have them, and have no fears of 'short' case life with nickel.
• I will examine nickel cases a little closer during reloading, and reserve them for mild target loads where a missed crack may not be such an issue.

Why use nickel plated cases at all, if they have even this small flaw? There are several good reasons. Chief among them (for me anyway) is that I pick them up at the range and they are free. Secondly, they resist corrosion when used in a carry/hunting pistol, and won't turn your leather gun gear a slimy green with age. Thirdly, they feed nicely in an auto-loader since the nickel plating is rather slick. Lastly, they clean up in the polisher in minutes, rather than hours.

Nickel plated bottle neck rifle ammunition is another story, and can cause reloaders to have fits. The hard nickel coating resists sizing to a point, and the higher pressures involved promote cracking at a much higher rate. They can also be a pain to trim, and are hard on the tool heads.

That said, nickel plated rifle cases are a fair choice for hunting, as they feed very smoothly and won't corrode under even the nastiest conditions. They'll have a shorter reload life than brass cases, depending on reloading method and pressure of the loads, but five or six loadings out of a single rifle cases are still possible.

For nickel plate pistol brass... the photo above speaks to that. Yes, nickel cases will crack more often, but not enough to shy away from using them. All it takes is a little more close examination as they age.

Commenter Sigivald asks a good question, and one I should have thought of myself. Exactly why do nickel plated cases tend to crack more often?

I think it has to do with the nature of nickel and brass, and their being dissimilar metals. They expand and contract at different rates, and react to sizing in different ways. One metal is trying to expand .005", while the other is attempting to go .008". The stress and strain put in place can pull metal apart.

I have read that the internal stresses inherent in the nickel plating itself leaves it stressed at 50% of it's fracture point even while sitting at rest. Add in repeated firing expansions, pressure, resizing, expanding, and crimping.... and something is going to happen. Brass is much more forgiving.

After photographing some nickel plated cases showing flaws (example above) I noticed that some cases have cracks in only the nickel plating... and not the underlying brass. This would imply flaws in the plating process, and delamination of the metals. I have to think such a crack in the plating would quickly lead to a case cracked completely through the body.