Rogue Elite

If you are new to firearms it’s fun to play tricks on you.   I have the opportunity to teach novice shooters and sometimes just random co-workers and family members that have no idea how to use a firearm other than pulling the trigger.   It’s not always up to the operator’s speed at gun handling, sometimes its the way the gun is loaded has more to do with how fast you get it up and running.  For instance, if you had a Glock 19 and 3  15rd magazines and they all ran empty, if you don’t have a speed loader a guy with a 5 shot revolver is going to get his gun back in the fight faster especially if he had speed loaders ahead of time.  It’s not really that you have to worry about running empty with a Glock firearm, it’s that carrying a 5 shot revolver does not mean you are under gunned.

As our economy sits in limbo, there will be crimes that creep up out of nowhere and concealed carry is something people are thinking about.  There are a lot of wild situations that people like to put themselves into, but the right mindset of a gun fight is to get out of it.   If you are military or Police, you may be called to break down doors and take down the bad guy, but civilians don’t have the justification for doing that by law.   The 1911 is seeing a lot of come backs in private security rankings and we have sold a lot of Wilson Combat magazines to guys that are doing the door knocking.   The reality of many search warrants is that close quarters gun fight does last long and the need for a high capacity firearm isn’t very necessary.  The most common gun magazine we are selling to the guys doing the door knocking are 7rd Wilson combat 1911 mags.

Today I put in several orders for various concealed carry shirts from 5.11 tactical and Blackhawk Warrior wear.   I’m still not happy about most of the tactical apparel companies product lines because so many of them are still not making concealed carry friendly clothing.   A few of them have CCW style shirts that are OK, but only Woolrich Elite really has the shirt thing nailed down right.   Most of the concealed carry style pants that Woolrich had have been discontinued and the better versions made by Eotac are no longer in existence either.    I am waiting for the new Woolrich Chino pants which look very white color friendly.  I hope they made the pockets right because the wallet ID pockets on some of the earlier pants styles were pretty bad and I’m still getting mixed product variations from them.

I can but do not carry a Sig 239 in .357 Sig but I can fit them in most of the Eotac and Woolrich Elite pants that I own.   There are CCW pants made by a company CCW break away that seem to be interesting for guys that have to carry that way, but the new Woolrich Chino pants look like a better idea.   Hopefully they do not look too tactical with the pockets but I will know in a few weeks when they come in.   My newest summer carry gun is my Colt 1991A1 which is thin and not very heavy.  I have been carrying my spare Wilson combat magazines in a pocket now because I have the spare mags on a belt to cause more ride ups from the shirts when I bend over.   Double stack magazines are pretty thick and if you you are carrying them  on a belt, they will protrude.  I do not recommend carrying them IWB because too much IWB stuff can start to hurt after awhile and it does limit your movement or risk causing injury.

When you have found that you have the right handgun for CCW, sometimes you’re better off with a smaller capacity firearm and a spare magazin than carrying a full size auto with a lot of bullets.   I have never had a magazine fall apart on me, but I’m sure it has happened to some people, but that’s not the reason i carry a spare magazine.   I had a lot of after market magazine laying around when the assault weapons ban was going on and much of it was after market magazines.   I picked up several 10rd magazines for my Kimber 1911 guns only to find that they were not reliable at all.   The balance was absolutely terrible and there was no way i would consider carrying something like that in a holster.

When it comes to using magazines in firearms like the M16, I have heard a lot of my military friends say they liked the 20rd magazines because it was better balanced and they could get into better shooting positions lower to the ground.   I know there are plenty of ways to get down low on the ground, but let’s just talk about balance.   Wilson Combat magazines are the most reliable and drop free on my 1911s, but I’m still not a fan of anything other than 8rd magazines.  Some people claim they are reliable, but the weight of 10rds of 45acp on a spring and 7rds is considerable and even though people will argue this, I have not found them to be as reliable for as long.

It always amazes me that when people think they need a backup gun or sidearm on a training course it means packing as much ammo for the 9mm handgun as it does for the M4 Carbine.   All it takes is a short training day to find out that a big chunk of the gear you brought with you was un-necessary.   An M4 Carbine is already probable the lightest and most handy firearms you can carry with you during the day and with a gun good sling you should be able to let go of the gun and still retain the weapon.   I have several LWRCI M6A2 guns and I tend to shoot the 77gr MK262 bullets.   These bullets weight a little more than the standard M193 ammo, but in my opinion it’s a better up front round.

When I carry a back up gun and I’m already carry a an M4 Carbine,  I am back to the old dog, my Colt 1911.   The Colt 1911 with 2 spare Wilson Combat magazines is all I need to retreat from a position or hold off a threat until I get my LWCR M6A2 back up and running.   I have yet to have something like that occur, but I have trained for it.   I am very confident that 24rds of 45acp is plenty of back up ammo and if the fight needs more than that,  I’ll more confident just turning around and running the other way.   A couple grenades my help boost my confidence though.

It may be just me, but I have noticed another change in the handgun industry of going back to the 1911 or 45acp firearms.   Back in the 1990′s during the assault weapons ban, some guns got priced out because the magazines were too expensive and many people just settled for what was the least expensive to own.   The 1911 got a lot of people back from the higher capacity 9mm thrill ride that Glock gave them and nobody complained.  Once the AWB was over everyone went back to whatever floated their boat.   The sale of AR15′s went through the roof and we saw lots of after market magazine manufacturers fall off the wagon and disappear.   I have noticed that after just about everyone and their dog picked up an AR15 or an M4 Cabine, worrying about  higher capacity handguns seemed to diminish.

If you have ever taken a serious Carbine class, the capacity of rounds your backup gun held really wasn’t something that came up.  If your primary weapons went down, any secondary firearm was your backup.  If you couldn’t get your primary back up and running you’re probable screwed.   I usually only carry a 1911 with 2 spare Wilson Combat Magazines. I never liked the idea of packing too many pistol rounds and was more inclined to pack extra gun parts like a spare bolt or firing pins rather than more than 2 pistol magazines.  My secondary weapon is meant to fight my way back to getting my primary back up and running.

You need to test your gear and accessories out to know for sure that they work on your firearms because there are so many variables in manufacturing that even the same company can slightly alter a mag well or magazine.   There use to be enormous problems with some AK magazines because not all Communist block countries made them the same.  I had a friend that picked up about 20 AK mags at a gun show and thought he’d stock up on them, only to find out that he had to take a file to most of them because they wouldn’t lock up in the rifles.

When it comes to handguns, the biggest problem that can occur once you get away from Factory magazines for a 1911 are that they don’t drop free.   1911 guns are not know for being very tight when it comes to tolerances and they are for the most part drop in guns.   Wilson Combat magazines are very sleek and are the number one magazine I see at IDPA competitions.   I have 5 1911 handguns all from different companies and Wilsons 7rd and  8 rd are all I ever use.  I think  the guns look better with flush fitting magazines, but reliability is the most important.

I use to upload all of my guns until a bad experience occurred to me with several of my gun safe firearms.   I mostly buy used firearms and my Sig 229 in .357 sat in a gun safe loaded with 12+1.   I bought the gun  used and replaced all of the magazine springs with Wolff gun springs, did a range test, and then when the gun passed the range report, I loaded it up and put it away in the safe for 9 months.  Thinking that taking this gun to an IDPA match would be a good way of testing it out and making sure it was reliable, I just took it with me and give it a run.

I had another Sig 229 with me, but this was in 40 S&W and it was also loaded to capacity.   Needless to say, both guns failed on me.   I  have a Colt 1911 with 8+1 rounds of 45acp in a Wilson Combat magazine and it has never failed me.   The only problem I have with it is that I need to really make sure the magazine is seat properly because it barely clicks in.   All magazines have been downloaded by at least 1 rd and since then, all of the guns have passed range tests even after long term storage.  Be careful about what you read on the internet, uploading many guns for long periods of time will decrease reliability.

I think there is just something about a 45acp that really makes firearms manufacturers do it right.  There is always preference when it comes to which firearm you want, and due to modern technology, many firearms are very reliable under almost all conditions.   The arguments about which caliber handgun has more stopping power will probable be a non-issue in coming years due to less lethal weapons like tasers ect.

I can’t think of any 45acp gun that is a full size semi-auto that I don’t like like.   The Springfield XD seems to be the most popular 45acp amongst 45acp enthusiasts.  Mostly because it feels closer to a 1911 and it is very well balanced.  Wilson Combat Magazines give the 1911 more reliability, but unless you do some alterations to the throat of the barrel, it won’t tolerate as much ammunition as the Sig 220 or the Springfield XD.

I’m mentioned many times before that I have witnessed many CCW holders go from full size autos to j-frame revolvers and I don’t think they are under gunned at all.   Many of my friends are now carrying  .380 pistols and 38 Specials.    If you are not on a hit list and not a LEO, you are more than likely  only going to deal with a minimal number of threats to your life and if you train to use  your firearm properly, you should be able to take out 1 or 2 bad guys with any firearm.   I’m not going to guarantee it, but having 2.5rds per target should make a 5 shot S&W worth it’s weight in gold.

I’m also not going to argue with someone that wants to carry a full size 1911 with a 7rd magazine.  I personally have never had a problem with my Wilson Combat Magazines, whether they are 7rd or 8rd.   I’ve heard many debates that the 8rd magazines are not as reliable, but I have never used anything but the 8rd magazines and I don’t have issues.   The real advantage of the 1911 design for CCW is that it is very thin.   I would say that my 8rd Sig 239 is actually thicker in the frame than a 45acp 1911 and it is easily concealed IWB.

One of the first holsters I ever purchased that was not specifically for concealed carry was an Uncle Mike’s gun holster.   It had a metal clip that that was very secure on a belt, and it was made of nylon.   It worked very well for me for several training sessions and it had a front pocket that could hold a double or single stack magazine with a velcro strap to secure it.   I never had a real problem with the holster since it is made of nylon and isn’t as harsh to lay down on as a paddle holster.  Many paddle holsters aren’t going to tolerate roll overs.

I have thought long and hard about what type of handgun to have with me as a secondary firearm and the thought came to me that it really should be all about up and close fighting and then flee the situation and clear my primary and get back into the fight with that.   I don’t carry about caliber wars between 9mm and 45acp, I will gladly fight a handgun battle with an M4 Carbine.   My secondary firearm is a  fitted with Wilson Combat magazines for a Colt 1991A1.   I carry one mag in the gun, and 2 in a vest pocket.   I don’t think over loading myself with handgun ammo is a good thing and 24rds of 45acp is good enough for me to fight my way out of a situation.