Thinking Man's Corner

Written by: William G.

Perhaps a hookah smoking caterpillar has given you a call. Go ask Alice. I think she’ll know what I am raving about tonight while I’m on this airplane.

I have carried a variety of guns on duty over the last three decades. Some issue, some personal. At times, I carried some for a few months while getting data for the agency. Some I audited in training classes. There have been a lot of them:

Pistols:

1911 Government, Commander, and Officer’s models

(I know that is a huge shock to regular readers.)

Glock 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 34, and 35

HK USP, HK45,  VP9, P7M8 and P7M13

SIG P220, 226, P229, P320, 365 and 365 Fuse

Smith and Wesson 5906, 4506, M&P, 19, 38, and 642

Add in some oddballs like Beretta 21a, Walther PPK/s, KelTec P32, Ruger LCP, NAA 22LR, a Colt Detective Special, some Smith and Wesson I and J frame 22LR, 22 mags, and 32 H&R’s; and probably a few I can’t remember.

Shotguns:

Beretta 1201

Benelli M1, M3, and M4

Mossberg 590

Remington 870

Rifles: 

Various AR derivatives in DI and Piston

A few AK derivatives

FN FAL

HK 91

Marlin lever guns in 357 Magnum, and 30-30

Sig 552

Winchester 94

I have tried a lot of different guns over the years, and settled on my favorites:

1911 LW Commander for Plain Clothes/Off Duty, or a Polymer mid size gun such as G19 or VP9k.

1911 Government for Uniform Patrol, and Tactical Operations; OR, If the agency requires it, or for various other reasons, a polymer striker fired 9mm with Surefire X300 and an optic (more later).

Remington 870 with Surefire integrated foreend, ghost ring sights, Magpul stock (with reduced length of pull, a 4-6 round aluminum side saddle, and VTAC padded sling. 

An AR derivative (Colt, SIG, HK, PWS, LWRC, Daniel Defense – all of those make good ones) in a 16” barrel, with Surefire light, Optic (Aimpoint, EoTech, or Holosun – they all make good ones), a manageable trigger (that may be factory, or an ALG ACT, with the tan spring, if the factory doesn’t suit me), and a VTAC padded sling. 

There are a lot of factors that caused me to favor those. One is the volume of training I have done with them. The other is they work for ME. May not be the best choice for everyone, though I could argue they probably are the best or close to it. As humans, when we develop familiarity with something, we find comfort in it. If we find comfort in it (as it is dependable, and we have a measured superior performance with it) we show favoritism toward it. We need to be careful of that and have a professional detachment since it is an inanimate object that can fail. If it doesn’t perform (as a duty gun) then it needs to be fixed, or discarded. It is easy for us as humans to make excuses for things we like, but that doesn’t have much business in this business. 

I know how I like my 1911’s set up, and what works. I know how to do a lot of my own work on them. Col. Jeff Cooper showed me how to tune an extractor, and how to tweak a few internals. An old GSP Captain showed me how to polish the feed ramp, fit a thumb safety, and do a trigger job. I picked up a few other special tips watching some of the best gunsmiths in the industry work on my guns in front of me. I know what thumb safety, grip safety, front strap checkering, stocks, trigger (and trigger weight and break), and sights I need to perform the best with my guns. My guns work with the magazines I prefer, and I don’t have issues with them. With all that said, a 1911 only needs: Sights you can see, a trigger you can manage, complete reliability, and a dehorning job. Add a rust resistant finish if you live in an inhospitable environment. Jeff Cooper was right, again. None of the extra stuff I listed out is a requirement. I can live perfectly fine with a bare bones 1911, and can do pretty decent work with it. You do not have to spend the down payment of a Mercedes S class to get one that works and is serviceable, unless you want to, which also makes it acceptable. 

Often times we overlook the purpose of a pistol, and that is to stop a fight someone else started – gain or regain control of your immediate environment. To do this, the gun has to be able to be brought rapidly to bear, accurate enough to hit a man square in the chest at reasonable distances (mostly across the room, sometimes across the street, much rarer is down the block – yet most all pistols can do that in trained hands), and it has to deliver a sufficient blow as to render your opponent unable or unwilling to continue the fight. It is not a lot to ask, and yes, I am being serious. We get too deep off into minutia sometimes chasing inconsequential increments. There is nothing wrong with a hand fitted, high end gun and accessories at all, but it is rarely actually needed. 

Which leads us to: As far as “modern” striker fired guns go, at this point there is not a lot of difference in between them. Some feel better in the hand, some point better, some have better triggers, some have less perceived recoil, some have better optic mounting solutions. How much better than the other is subjective to the shooter. Right now I would say the two top contenders for king of the hill are the HK VP9A1 and the Walther PDP Pro. I shot a Gen6 Glock, and it is an improvement, but the jury is out until I get more time on it, and it is not that big of a point of interest to me with everything else on my plate. I would not rush out to buy one if you have a serviceable Gen3 or 5. If you still have a Gen4, I am sorry, and you should go get the Gen 6 right now, like immediately. 

One of my jobs has to do with testing guns for agencies, and consulting on institutional procurement and implementation of new firearms systems. It behooves me to try many items on the market so I can make an informed opinion. It has spoiled me, and jaded me at the same time. I do not get excited about the next best thing, because it is usually not that much of a big deal, that is what marketing is for. 

If the gun is reliable, durable, reasonably priced, and has a good amount of support equipment (spare parts, magazines, holsters, armorer training, and support), and delivery time is reasonable; then we have to start splitting hairs.  The two I am going to be testing for a while this year are a HK VP9A1 X model with a Holosun EPS Gold MRS, and a Walther PDP Pro “F” model (shorter trigger reach) with a 4” barrel and Aimpoint ACRO P2. I see a lot of agencies switching to those at metro and state level across the country. I have been involved with procurement on large scales with both. I want more experience with them to keep track of quirks, performance, and both subjective and objective reasonableness as it were. 

Alien Gear makes the fastest duty holster I have tried, but do not make a holster for the HK or Walther. Safariland, the long crowned king, does make them, but I am not the biggest fan of the gap left between the holster and the light. There is a new company on the horizon though. A European company that is making some very slick, fast, and secure retention holsters aimed directly at US law enforcement. Maybe I can call in a few favors. I do wish the industry would put in more thought behind holster design as it related to preventing intrusion of foreign matter into the trigger guard though the gap in the holster, better mounting options for females (ride height, and padding so it does not jab the hips),  and a more intuitive security mechanism that remains robust under tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving fiascos like being jumped by 2 body builders or some other thing that never happens in real life, or does it? Just saying you might want to do your own pull test (with a dummy gun) if you run a QD mechanism on some holsters. (Like an old model QD with a newer, beefier snatch proof holster. That might not hold in every scenario.  There are plenty of other examples too, that appear when you pressure test your gear with some serious and strong dudes in a controlled chaos environment.)

Back on topic, more or less, I find the 870 to be more robust, reliable, and easier to manipulate than any auto. Especially when fatigued, with cold and wet hands at night. I do not have to worry that it will not cycle with low recoil buckshot if I pick it up out of the swamps where I dropped it chasing after an escaped convict. I know the case for the autos, and I see a lot of people run them fast. I know that Col. Charles Askins, and a lot of the legendary Texas Rangers of yesteryear liked the auto. Louis Awerbuck, the greatest shotgun master of our time, preferred the 11-87. Like I have said, just because I like something doesn’t make it superior for everyone, just for me. So, if you have a slicked up auto, and it works in every situation you can dream up, go forth in confidence. I may just not be smart or competent enough to use one, and am ok with that since the 870 works for me. 

The AR-15 works a lot better than some of the stories of it would have you believe. Some of you newer guys may not have ever been exposed to the drama and myth surrounding the platform, but it was a topic up through the early 2000’s. Over the years I have found the simpler and lighter it is, the better I perform with it. I don’t have call for a free float rail or vertical foregrip, or a laser aiming module. I don’t like LPVO’s, and can deal without the flip to side or center magnifiers most days. A simple carbine (the ballistics are still better from a 16” than a 11.5 or whichever you pet length is, regardless of what special ammo is on the market next week) with a red (or other color) dot, sling, and light have served me pretty well. I do like a rubber piece on the butt pad, to keep it from slipping on a slick nylon vest. I do like an extended charging handle for the way I run the bolt. I do like a straighter pistol grip. And, I like a slicker trigger, but not too slick. For the longest time I lived with the factory trigger. Then I tried the Geissele. I switched almost all my carbines to that for an even longer time. Recently, I was doing some shooting with two different guns. One had a factory trigger, and the other a SSA-E. For the first time, I found the SSA-E too light, way too light. The happy medium for me is the ALG Defense ACT trigger. Mil-Spec (with the tan spring), polished and coated; it is light enough, and lets perform to a standard I am comfortable with. So, it is like I have come near full circle back to a slightly slicked up factory trigger. Oh well. The more you live, the more you learn, and the more the past becomes the future.

The round about point of that is chasing perceived performance is futile in the grand scheme of things. Good enough may not be, but then again, it may. Depends on how you look at the totality of the circumstances. Not everyone has the money to go out and buy a SSA-E, much less one for every single gun they may have. You are not at that much of a disadvantage for not having a $240 retail trigger in your primary defensive long gun. It is more important to get a quality gun, quality light, quality sling, and quality optic (in that order); and then testing the gun with quality ammo and magazines to make sure it works well enough to bet your life on. You don’t have to sink all the money into it at one time either. A simple 2 point sling will do if the iron sight gun has a good light, and works. You can add the red dot and better sling later. The main point of gadgets that claim to make you shoot better is to part you from your money that is better applied to ammo and training, for the most part. 

Those that have known me for a while remember when I was having motivational issues with the troops at a long ago agency, and threatened to take their Glocks and reissue revolvers if they did not begin to take shooting more seriously. I solved that by getting the Chief to mandate range sessions that were actual training, through creative coaching, and bringing in world class instructors, and then stayed on top of the program. The vast majority could then qualify 90% or better, first try. After I left that agency, the new “chief,” who replaced the previous Real Chief, was run off pretty quick, disbanded the program, and cut funding for training. Scores plummeted, and there was constant remediation.

I have half jokingly stated that patrol should be issued heavy barrel Model 10’s, and SWAT should have 1911’s with hardball, again only half joking. There are very few problems a domestic peace officer cannot handle with a 1911, a revolver, an 870, a lever action carbine, or a scoped bolt action rifle. The catch is that they are trained, and have the right mindset. Pistol Mounted Optics, Weapon Mounted Lights (on pistols – they SHOULD be on all long guns for LE Duty use), 19+ round pistol magazines, short barreled rifles with silencers, all of these things do make a lot of sense for a lot of situations. They do make the problem of shooting easier, not that it is all that difficult to start with except in extreme examples. I am not opposed to any advancements in technology that are legal, moral, ethical, and quantifiably an improvement. I welcome that. My grumblings are about replacing brain power, grit, and hardened determination to prevail with gadgets. Gadgets and fancy gear will not save you. Your will, and mind, will.

While I can talk for days about mindset, the simplest and shortest ways I can try to impart it is thus: you must be willing to fight anyone, anywhere, at anytime to the death, with reckless disregard for your own mortality, and with no fear of the consequences. (This assumes you are righteous, and legal in your actions for the good guys. There are a LOT or really heinous bad guys out there that do not care, and that is what you run the risk of coming against one day.) I worked a high end protection detail for a very at risk person. As we were integrating into the role, the lead from his former detail looked at me and said: “destroy anyone or anything that tries to harm your principal.” That was his parting advice. The guy was a legend in the military community, and was involved in lots of special activities. He is a little intense, but whether people liked him or not, no one has been able to deny how dangerous he was in close quarters, especially if you meant harm to the people he was charged with protecting. Ernie Emerson use to use the phrase “Bad Intent” as a nod to what a good guy should have toward a bad guy that was flirting with felonious intent. Kelly McCann uses the term “Will Fight” to describe someone that will fight no matter what. They may be scared, they may be hurt, they may be outnumbered, but the grit in their craw, their mental fortitude, whatever it is inside them will not allow them to not fight when it is time. That is the important part. Not gear, not a fancy gun, not the latest range pokeman or super secret kata. Will to prevail. Almost any serviceable gun will work in the intended role of personal protection as long as the user has the will. The gun, the knife, the impact weapon, the aerosol restraint, are mere extensions of a man. The man is the deciding factor.

Critical thinking under duress, and the will to fight is so much more important than gear. We get sucked down into the rabbit’s hole chasing after a lucky rabbit’s foot that we forget we can’t get that foot with out a flashlight to find the rabbit, and knife to take that foot off. Not to mention, you have to be able to look the rabbit in the eye and draw blood to get what you want. If you feel a bit squeamish due to how scared the rabbit is looking back at you, don’t discount the fact that the rabbit is trained in misdirection, and is just distracting you long enough to get to his knife, and he is not going to be squeamish at all about gutting you. The hunter with the big expensive gun gets eaten by the lion, or gored by the buffalo all the time in Africa. Just because you paid for the best, and you were trained by the best, doesn’t mean anything if you are not willing. As my old friend Marcus Wynne use to say “all God’s critters got claws.” You just have to be more willing than the other guy. Remember to be careful if you go off chasing rabbits……….