The coolest way to store my two Smith and Wesson Revolvers

I found this cabinet from Outdoorsman Furnishings that I immediately fell in love with.  The perfect way to store two classic revolvers.  The Smith and Wesson 929 (9mm) and 629 (44 magnum).



Classic!  Not bad for $135.

This can be purchased here: Rustic Wood American Flag Concealment Cabinet

The new Springfield Hellcat 9mm to replace my Glock 43

I discovered this new CC handgun on youtube last month and after watching a few videos reviewing it, I emailed Denny about letting me know when he gets them in stock.

Sootch really does a great job with the thorough reviews:

For some background for comparison, my CC is the Glock43.

The Glock43 I have is very far from being stock.  I replaced/added:

10 rounds for glock (left)
compared to 13 rounds for Hellcat (right)

• Talon Grip tape - The grip on the 43 is terrible. Needed something with some bite on it. ($18)
• trigger - installed a pyramid trigger from glockstore. ($170)
• extended magazine - the backup magazine I carry holds 10 and extends the default 6 rounds by 4, but the extension piece is huge!  ($25)
• Sights - the plastic sights that came with the Glock43 were cheap!  Replaced with Trijicon Tru Glo sights ($85)
• Guide Rod - replaced with Tungston guide rode from Glockstore. ($85)
• Laser - TLR-6 light/laser combo which attaches the front of the trigger guard.  Total crap. Wasn't reliable. Something I won't bother with on the Hellcat anyway.

So over $380 extra on top of the Glock43.  All of that is totally unnecessary with the Hellcat.  

The trigger is just as good stock in the hellcat as the pyramid trigger I installed on the Glock 43 in my opinion.  It has a trigger safety bar on it just like the pyramid trigger, and is a flat face trigger very similar to the pyramid trigger.

The stock sights are great with the front yellow fiberoptic.  The grips are awesome as is. On the Glock 43, I got suckered into getting the tungston guide rod by Lenny Magill claiming that the recoil could be better so I got it.  I don't really know if it was really necessary on the Glock 43, but definitely not needed on the Hellcat. The recoil is comparable on both I feel. 

I went with the Hellcat model WITHOUT the red dot ready stuff on it.  If I'm going CC I'm not going to get a red dot on it anyway. And I'm definitely done with lasers.  So the single rail that the Hellcat has (which the G43 didn't), won't really provide me any benefit, but at least it's available for me to put my Mantis X training receiver on should I need it.

And the thing that thrills me the most is the magazines.  Double stack mags with the Hellcat that really aren't that much wider.  Yes the Hellcat is slightly wider than the G43, but not significantly.

I had attempted a while ago to replace my G43 with the Walter PPQ SC, but it ended up being too wide in order to give me the capacity I wanted and the extra ammo didn't give me enough benefit in my opinion to outweigh the width and printing the PPQ was causing.  So I went back to the G43 until now.

The total capacity including backup mag:

Magazine	Glock 43	Springfield Hellcat	Increased capacity in Hellcat
Primary	6+1	11+1	71%
Backup	10	13	30%
Total	17	25	47%

The length of the Hellcat is smaller than the G43.  The height is the same, while the width is slightly bigger on the Hellcat. The grip is noticeably wider in the amount of purchase during the grip, but not noticeable from a carrying perspective.  All with nearly 50% more total capacity? That's mind blowing to me.

So if you take the Glock 43 price including all the extras I put into it: $450 + $380 = $830
Hellcat (no extras necessary) : $490

So the Hellcat ended up being 59% of the price I paid to get the Glock43 just like I wanted.  With 47% greater capacity! Do I hate my Glock 43?  No.  I'm not a Glock fanboy either. I simply found something else that gives me more capacity for a slightly smaller size for practically the same quality everywhere else without requiring me to buy all these individual upgrades. And the DeSantis pocket holster I use for my Glock43 fits the Hellcat just fine.

Anyone who is looking for a pocket CC pistol, the Hellcat is a no brainer.  Now the reliability of the Glock 43 has been outstanding.  I will admit that.  I plan to shoot this Hellcat every time I go to the range. Only time will tell if it can hold up to the Glock. 

I would be very surprised if it wasn't as reliable.  We'll see!

The AR-15 hype

There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding the urgency to criminalize people that legally own an AR-15 rifle. That's what it is, a normal semi-auto rifle that is getting way too much hype and made to be feared because of its looks. Like spiders.
Here's an example of a blatant lie by a congresswoman. The firearm she talks about here is NOT an AR-15....

You are more likely to be killed by kicks or punches to the face, than an AR-15. But the media and ignorant/crafty congressional and presidential candidates make up lies about them because the public that is not educated regarding firearms, and don't really care about their constitutionally protected freedom, will take these statements and find them reasonable and believe them. When in fact, they are lies.

Did you know you are 10 times more likely to have a loved one drown, than killed by one of these rifles? Do the research. Look it up! Approximately 3,500 people die in the USA from drowning(1). Approximately 297 people die in the USA from rifles(2). ALL rifles, and the AR-15 (AR stands for Armalite Rifle, not Assault Rifle in case the media has convinced you of that lie already) comprise a fraction of those 297 annual deaths.

Check out the misinformation that this guy is spreading:

If you have kids, you have an obligation to talk to your kids about safety. You need to be informed yourself. While there is an extremely remote risk of a mass shooting, it's still a risk. We as parents need to talk to our kids about various situations of self-defense in this world. At the same time we need to discuss the fears our kids have and discuss when they are justified and how to overcome them, or when they have unreasonable fears. When I was a kid I was terrified of spiders. But with a little education, I've come to realize it was unreasonable to be afraid of them.

The same thing happened to me prior to swimming the Catalina Channel, I had to become educated regarding sharks to overcome my unreasonable fear of getting attacked.  So I did a ton of homework. Read books and searched for facts on the subject.

Unfortunately we have leaders that instead of promoting truth, are spreading myths and misconceptions and stoking the fires of fear in hopes of maintaining or gaining power from easy votes from mentally lazy people.

When we hear of a mass shooting where it was used, all of a sudden it's an epidemic, and millions of people need to have their right to own them taken away? It is ridiculous.

What bugs me is that current ignorant and/or crafty congressional representatives in our country are demanding that we make these types of firearms illegal despite the facts that they are protected under the constitutions.  To change that is a very big deal, and disrupts the fabric of our country with far reaching implications.  Keep in mind, more people are dying from drowning per year than deaths from all rifles.  Why isn't mandating swim lessons nationally a topic on the debate stage?  You may think that is ridiculous, but it would have bigger impact. Although I wouldn't be in favor of that either.  

Government should build roads and basic social services, not get in my business of how to live my life peacefully, and restrict my ability to defend myself.  If you are worried about a criminal with one of these firearms. Become empowered in your own self defense! Don't live your life in fear! 

Be mindful when the government wants to get their hands into every aspect of our lives. Whether you consider the governmental action good or bad. If we allow the government to give us too much, they can also take much. That is troublesome and history shows that it's a pattern we need to avoid to keep our freedom.

Gun Maintenance - It's about time

Yesterday, my son asked me to take him and his girlfriend to the range for some target shooting.  I didn't hesitate.  He told me she didn't have any experience and was interested.

On the way to the range we discussed the safety rules:

• 'A' ssume every gun is loaded. Treat it with respect. It's not a toy even when you know it's unloaded.
• 'C'ontrol the muzzle.  Keep the gun pointed downrange even when unloaded.
• 'T'rigger finger discipline.  The only time that finger should be on the trigger is when it's up and aiming.
• 'T'arget awareness, being aware of not only what your target is, but what is beyond it. Bullets don't just stop after hitting a target, even if you were able to hit it.

I wanted to give them a wide variety of exposure to different calibers and types.  They included:

• .22 Browning Buckmark pistol 
• 9mm PCC - CZ Scorpion Evo3 Carbine with red dot
• 9mm Handgun - CZ Shadow 2 - open sights
• 44 magnum revolver - Smith and Wesson 629 with red dot.
• 5.57 x 45 - Springfield Saint AR-15 with Deadair suppressor - with holographic sight.
• .22 rifle with  4-7x Redfield optic
• 9mm CC pistol - Glock 43 open sights

We spent an hour going over the proper handling and shooting at the Red Dot range. They had a good time and had fun shooting safely.

Afterward I field stripped and cleaned each one.  It took 3 hours to complete.  I watched a little Prime Video with the kids as I sat at the kitchen table cleaning them.  1 hour of shooting to 3 hours of cleaning.  Not exactly something I want to do every Saturday night, but it gave me an opportunity to open the door for these young kids to get a perspective that I don't believe our kids get.  

7 guns field stripped and soaking in cleaner to help remove carbon buildup.

Our youth are exposed to make-belief, and made to think it is reality.  Our world is spreading misconceptions and outright lies, where good is termed bad, and evil labeled as good.  The world is shouting how to behave, and what to believe and ignoring why we should treat everyone with love and respect. That we are all children of a Father who loves us and we should learn to treat each other as brothers and sisters that love each other.

A productive evening, I'd say.