The 1911 has a two manual safeties that must be disengaged simultaneously to operate the firearm. These safeties are often misunderstood or simply misused. Managing 1911 safeties effectively and reliably is paramount to deploying the defensive 1911. There are hardware and software issues that go into managing these safeties, and today we take a look at those factors.
Gun Mistakes in Fiction Writing: Handgun Edition
I recently finished a book by Steven Pressfield, 36 Righteous Men. Pressfield is one of my favorite fiction authors; if you haven’t read Gates of Fire you don’t know what you’re missing. With that said, 36 Righteous Men wasn’t my favorite Pressfield work. When I read a line about a character “flicking the safety off” her Glock I cringed†. I realized this wasn’t the first book in recent memory with such a slip-up. Here are some common gun mistakes in fiction, as well as how to avoid making them.
Reasons to Consider the 1911
The 1911 isn’t recommended by gun writers and YouTube people much anymore. I think this is because of a unwritten rule I’ve observed in the gun world that says, “if it’s not suitable for everybody, it’s not suitable for anybody.” I don’t agree with that. Nor do I agree that the 1911 is the “ultimate” handgun. The 1911 can be a viable option, but it has some serious limitations. Here are some reasons to consider the 1911 when weighing defensive handgun options.
Gun Review: The S&W M&P Shield Plus
This is a review of the new M&P Shield Plus, Smith & Wesson’s ultra-compact, 10+1/13+1 concealed carry pistol. This article is neither hit-piece nor glowing review. Rather it is a 100% honest, unbiased, unfiltered assessment obtained through 460 rounds and two months with this pistol. You’ll probably have to dig pretty deep to find a more detailed review of the new Shield Plus.
The Best, Most Overlooked M&P Shield
Smith & Wesson’s M&P Shield is an iconic pistol. The subcompact Shield is one of the most popular handguns on the market today. I carried a Shield 2.0 as my primary EDC handgun for a little under a year, and statistically many of you reading this have owned or carried one at some point, too. I am a big fan of the Shield but I think the best of the bunch has been completely ignored.
Gun Owner 101: Lethal Force Considerations
This post continues a series called “Gun Owner 101.” This post discusses some of the less-concrete aspects of concealed carry and the use of lethal force. In my opinion, material of this sort is grossly under-represented in the carry/defense/EDC space. I think these are incredibly important concepts to be exposed to, consider, and factor in your concealed-carry and home-defense plans. If I were teaching a concealed carry class I would work hard to present these concepts.
Gun Owner 101: Holster Selection
This post begins a news series called “Gun Owner 101.” I am opening this series with a detailed discussion of holster selection. I’m also going to touch on carry positions In it I cover the purpose of a holster, holster materials, common features of a good holster, various carry positions. Throughout I offer some tips and tricks and some pitfalls to avoid. Though this isn’t everything there is to know about holsters, it should help you make a good decision about a holster.
Defensive 1911: Dropping the Slide
The 1911 design is, as most of its more emotional followers are quick to point out, over 100 years old. Mostly I don’t care about that at all. It’s interesting but it’s not better because it’s ancient any more than your Glock is better for being filthy or Austrian or grey in color. However, I do care about that in as much as the old design requires some special considerations in use and handling. Today I’m going to talk about one of those: dropping the slide on the 1911.
Defensive AR Setup 3: The Rifle Itself
Many of you are probably wondering why I chose to write about accessories (Part I, Part II) for the rifle before writing about the AR-15 rifle itself. I have been operating under the assumption that most of you reading this already own your rifle. I realize that is not the case for everyone, so today I am going to talk about a few considerations in regards to the selection of your carbine.
Defensive 1911: Cleaning & Maintenance
The 1911 is not a platform that suffers long periods of inattention gracefully. It has to be cleaned and lubricated at least somewhat regularly in order to keep running efficiently. This is in contrast to a lot of guns that will keep running notwithstanding a dearth of maintenance. Let’s look at cleaning and maintenance of the defensive 1911.