Squeak, squeak, squeak....SSP Expert

That was the sound of me squeaking by and shooting Expert in SSP at today's IDPA classifier.

120 is the minimum score (smaller number is better score) to make the cut, I shot a 119.99.

What's more amazing is that I shot was is now my best classifier with a gun I had never shot before this morning in 20-30 degrees of weather...I wonder what I can do with the gun in warm weather?


As my P30S is no longer IDPA complaint, I wanted a similar gun that I could shoot at a match without question.

I lucked into a P30LS in LEM that had all ready had a Gray Guns trigger job and the Heinie sights that I prefer. The pistol was received on Wednesday night and with all the Holiday and other activities I didn't get a chance to shoot the pistol until arriving at the range this morning. I got to shoot 20rds on the plate rack and the rest was all on the classifier.

Top: HK P30LS - Light LEM -Bottom HK P30S w/ Leupold Delta Point

For me it was a great end to the 2012 IDPA season, I went in to 2012 wanting to make Expert, but I planned on doing it in the Custom Defense Pistol (CDP) division, never thought in a million years I'd be doing with a P30LS in LEM in SSP.

As stated, this was our last IDPA match for 2012.

Much thanks goes out to those that helped us at BHPC with successful 2012 IDPA Season.

Back to the drawing board for stages to shoot in 2013!!!

Bowie HK P30S w/ Delta Point Update

Well we were off to a rough start. The original Delta Point died before I had it fully zeroed it. Leupold replaced it without question.

I installed the replacement unit and set to sighting it in and had some strange trigger issues that I have attributed to the altered slide geometry regarding the firing pin block channel and the "heavy" firing pin block spring. It seems that there was to much tension on the inner workings of the gun and the firing mechanism was binding and the gun would intermittently not go bang. I happened to have a "light" firing pin block spring on hand and tried that as a quick fix and lo and behold my problems went away.

Previously before the original dot died, I had ran the gun in a couple of matches with tape over the emitter and used the back up iron sights. This time I was able to compete with the sight active and I was floored by my level of improvement in almost all areas. The one issue I'm having is picking up the dot during my initial press out for the first shot on target, this just requires more dry practice of mounting the gun and building "muscle memory" ( I hate the term, only because there's always going to be the one guy that says "muscles have memories") in order to replicate proper draw stroke and apply it correctly. In order to do this I need to get the gun a little more up and my head a little more down....

Like Dave Bowie as seen in this picture.

This optic really does wonders with my eye dominance issues by bringing target and sighting into one focal plane*2. So instead of having to look at the target, look at the front sight, look at the rear sight, look at the target etc. I just look at the target and place, in my case the triangle on the target and press the trigger. One little oddity is that to get the optic zeroed, I have the windage almost all the way to the left, I attribute this to my severely dominant left eye.

I have a Glock 17, 2nd Generation on it's way to Bowie for him to work his magic on with some of the same things I had done to the P30. Not sure if I'm going to stick with the Delta Point or go with a Trijicon RMR, Dave currently prefers the Delta Point due to the fact that it keeps zero better than the RMR but the RMR is supposed to be more rugged....Suarez has been doing a lot of work with the RMRs in the last couple of years as well as some others, currently Hilton Yam of 10-8 (their blog is now Modern Service Weapons) has a test going on now with several RMRs and the results are not that impressive but he has been in contact with Trijicon and they are to be improving the RMR to make it more rugged.

I am now on my fourth RMR since starting the project at the end of August.  The first three have failed as follows:

• Adjustable intensity RMR07 died after 1185 rounds, with the dot turning on/off intermittently. Thanks to painted witness marks, it was easy to see that the windage adjustment screw was also rotating 2-3 clicks every 50 rounds or so.
• An automatic intensity RMR02 suddenly lost zero after only 625 rounds. The external elevation adjustments had not moved, but the point of impact shifted down about 24″ at 15 yards.
• A second automatic intensity RMR02 (below) lost zero after about 750 rounds in the first day of a class.  It was off by about 6″ at 15 yards.

Dave has said the same regarding Leupold and the Delta Point and ongoing improvements. Not sure which way I want to go. Good news is that I have some time to think about it as my gun won't be ready till near summer of 2013 so I have some time to evaluate the Delta Point some more before making a decision. Maybe by then we'll see some real progress from either maker, but currently I'm pretty happy with this package.

HK P30S with Leupold Delta Point 7.5MOA Triangle Reticle

Update: Bowie Tactical P30S w/ Delta Point

Ran the Bowie Tactical / HK  P30S again @IDPA today in Ames, IA with the emitter taped over to get better acquainted with the irons, I could have shot Open Div. in USPSA today, but want to get better with the more familiar sights before really diving into the red dot...well that and I just felt like shooting with the guys in Ames.

I'm having trouble tracking the front sight, need to paint it and may possibly have a tritium vial installed in it. On a good note I was running some hotter ammunition and did not have any failures of any sort. Previously I was having some random failure to feed issues. Not sure if was from the refinished slide which seems to be a little tighter than pre-coating or if the added mass of the Deltapoint had anything to do with it, all I know was that I had no issues while running Winchester Ranger T NATO ammo today. After a couple hundred more I'll try some standard velocity 124gr FMJ and some 115gr FMJ and see what kind of results I have.

On a P30 only note, the slim slide stop lever assy. I installed has fixed my failure to lock open on empty issue.

Had some decent Bill Drill runs @ 10 (4.13), 7(3.53), and 5 yards(2.42), was down 2 for the stage, forget n which strings but think I dropped 1ea on the closer targets.


Head shots with the irons took a little more work. Still need to get to the in-door range and properly sight in the Delta Point.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the gun, I'm still shooting the 1911 better, but it will take some time to get used to something different.

On another topic, Suarez International is holding some Red Dot Equipped Pistol specific training classes,

in October, unfortunately I won't be able to partake this time around but will be looking for these offerings in the future.

Bowie Tactical HK P30S w/ Leupold Delta Point

The P30S should be on it's way back from Bowie tomorrow.

He put up this pic.

Have been on the hunt for a new holster for it and have been in contact with Garrett Industries regarding one of their tuck-able IWB holsters.

Really looking forward to getting this out and seeing how she runs.

Getting Ready To Go Glock....

So about two years ago, I bought my wife a 4th Gen Glock 19 as she wanted something smaller, lighter, and higher capacity than her 1911. While @ TDI for Handguns I-III she discovered that the 4th Gen G19, even in it's "smallest" configuration was still to large for her. One of the instructors let her borrow a Bowie Tactical Concepts Signature Series Limited Edition Glock 19 (#11 of 50) and she really, really liked it. She decided that during our return to TDI for Partner Tactics that she would drop off her G19 for Dave to do his magic on.

While there I got to shoot some of David's other work, including the S&W M&P 9mm that may have been the cover gun for the 2011Custom Combat Handguns magazine....I know I'm a geek but that makes me kind of giddy...

I also got to shoot a Glock 17 that had been Bowie'd, no optic, no grip reduction but did have the grip texturing, good sights and probably the one of the best Glock triggers I've felt.

I've always been big on the wife and I having the same platform for carry, not to mention it will make the 33rd magazines in the glove box work for both of us...so I'm going to be going Glock.

I'm currently seeking a 3rd Generation Glock 17 to send in to Bowie for work, I'll detail the work later when I complete the work order.


Oh yeah, my HKP30S is still in Ohio awaiting some upgrades as well.

AAR: Suarez Intl. Point Shooting Progressions - April 21-22 w/ Roger Phillips and Greg Nichols

Suarez Intl. Point Shooting Progressions

April 21-22, 2012

Big Springs Range – Searsboro, Iowa

Roger Phillips and Greg Nichols

~Preface~

First and foremost, I will say that I am writing this with the intent to post it at multiple venues and that some comments may be made to certain groups of individuals and not the member base of any one particular forum etc. Also, please excuse any typos or errors, while I usually go through great lengths to use proper spelling and grammar, I've been writing most of this with my 4 month old daughter on my lap and it's been kind of hard to type...

It seems that whenever I see a review of a Suarez Intl. Course posted outside of Warrior Talk, Gabe Suarez’s forum and meeting place for his students, customers, and colleagues; that some will take to condemning the organization for elements of Gabe’s past.

I do not care about Gabe’s past, it was in the past and that is it. If you have some beef about Suarez as an individual, I would ask that you not air your issues where this class review is being discussed as it’s not really about Gabe Suarez.

I did not take this course because of Gabe Suarez, I enrolled in this class mainly because of Roger Phillips. I’ve been reading Roger’s writings for years at DefensiveCarry.com and have always found his pieces, well written, technically and tactically proficient, valid and quite informational. To this day, every time I shoot a shot looking for maximum accuracy (yes that does mean using sights), I do so using information that I obtained from Roger and his writings.

I have wanted to take this course for years, particularly under the instruction of Roger, for many reasons I was never able to make it to this class until this month, I have taken a few training classes with other instructors but I've still wanted to take this class.

The final straw driving me to this class was when I was attending a course at the Tactical Defense Institute of Ohio (TDI) one of the instructors, Greg Elfritz made mention of a study on movement and other factors and how they altered the results of modeled gun fights using AirSoft Force on Force training. Near the end of this study, the following can be found.

"This clearly identifies a need for additional training and highlights the critical importance of making yourself a moving target during a gunfight. If highly trained shooters hit their opponents’ torsos with only eleven percent of rounds fired, imagine how much worse the average street thug with no training and minimal experience will perform under similar conditions!"

"I’ll simply say that we as trainers need to do some more work. We need to find a better solution to allow our students to hit their targets with a greater percentage of rounds during the stressful, fast-evolving nature of a gunfight. Whatever that solution is, be it training in point shooting techniques, an enhanced sighted shooting curriculum, or stress-inoculating scenario-based training, it is our collective responsibility as trainers to find it."

While some of the material from the Point Shooting Progressions Course, hereafter referred to as PSP had been covered in those classes other classes, PSP is just the class to fill the gaps referenced above from Greg’s article and I highly recommend it. I have no qualms referring friends, family, and my own students to Suarez International (SI) and after reading this after action review (AAR) in its entirety, neither should you. 

~Day 1~

The class was hosted by Suarez Intl. Staff Instructor, Greg Nichols. While Roger did a majority of teaching the course, Greg did his fair share of giving feedback to the students and word is that he is doing quite well inside the SI Organization. I have a feeling I'll be seeing more of him in the future and have some friends and prior students looking to take the Defensive Pistol Skills Class with Greg this June. I will be eagerly awaiting more feedback from this class.

It will surprise a lot of readers to learn that this class, which is often thought of as the “must have” of point shooting classes did not start off with a sacrifice along the lines of sights being sawed off from pistols and thrown into the trash, after all the paper work was filled out, mags were loaded, eyes and ears in place; we started with…

…An exercise in accurate shooting. That’s right, the first shots in POINT SHOOTING CLASS were shot using our sights in a “One hole drill” where the goal is to try and shoot five (5) shots into as tight a group as possible with a single hole being the desired result. Range was only about three (3) yards and the “target” was a small piece of blue tape no bigger than the fingernail of my little finger. This is just to see if anyone is having any issues regarding the fundamentals of shooting a pistol.

HK P30S 9mm & Other Updates

Just a quick update on the P30S. I received my Milt Sparks VM2 for the P30 and have been wearing that pretty much 100% of the time I'm carrying. I am pleased to say that I am not having the issue of de-cocking the gun during the access part of my draw stroke.

I changed out the front and rear sight to a fiber optic front and plain black rear from Dawson Precision and I really like the sights. One thing to note with the P30 is that there isn't much flat, vertical surface to the slide and using a sight pusher can be tricky. I ended up using my 10-8 Armorer Tool as a wedge to keep the slide from canting in the pusher. On a side note, the 10-8 rear sight for the HK45, 45C, P30 and P30L is done and in stock.

I haven't ordered one (10-8 rear) yet, but plan on adding one to the HK45 here in a couple of weeks.

I was kind of worried about my alignment of the sights as the front sight appeared slightly off center, but my initial testing @ 50' from a rest proved the sights to be centered, or at least centered enough for me.

Dawson Precision Fiber Optic Front

Dawson Precision Rear Sight

Five Shots, Rested @ 50 Feet

The gun then went 1200+/- rds of Winchester Ranger NATO @ the Point Shooting Progressions Course I attended in Searsboro, IA with Roger Phillips and Greg Nichols and the sights didn't budge.

An after action review (AAR) of the class is in progress. I apologize for lack of blogging of late but the wife is taking EMT training, which leaves me busy with the kids while she's at class or studying, the IDPA thing, and that pesky thing called a job have been taking their toll on my time for other things.

HK P30S Update.

Managed to get some holster work with the HK P30S in today working the plate rack, there was one incidents where on gripping the gun to draw, my thumb did in fact de-cock the pistol. While there is a way to convert the HK45 to a no de-cock model, there is currently NOT a function to do that with a P30S.....

But I'm going to do it any way. A replacement release latch with the de-cocker button shaved off and a nice bevel added to the newly cut edge should work nicely.

Not sure when this is going to happen, but I will probably do this before April or May. Should make a good experiment.

HK P30S: Initial Thoughts

I've been wanting a P30S since HK announced their production two or three years ago, I like the idea of non-1911 pistols in 9mm that offer cocked and locked (C&L) carry, meaning that the chamber is loaded and there is a manual safety engaged.

I am a die-hard 1911 fan and have no illusions that I am done with 1911s by any means and the addition of this feature on  the P30 is very appealing as I can maintain familiarity with the drawing/firing process of a C&L platform. I've been very happy with the HK45 and the addition of the P30S will allow to to shoot more for less $$$, with the cost difference between 9mm and .45, I have the cost of the gun in just a few 1K ammo orders.

I've only got a couple hundred rounds through the gun so far, but plan on running the gun in this years trip to TDI's Partner Tactics Course (another advantage of the P30S is that we don't have to order two calibers of ammunition and can stick with 9mm as the wife will be running her Glock 19) as well as some other classes and of course, IDPA. As such, I'm not going to talk about two or three hundred "flawless rounds" as I should very well hope that a gun can go three hundred +/- rounds without hiccup.

So what I cam going to talk about is what I like/dislike about the P30S.

Some may be wondering why I chose the regular length P30S instead of the P30LS, well I'm  a big proponent of keeping varying carry platforms and methods as close together as possible, and my preferred carry holster is the Milt Sparks Versa-Max II which is/was not available for the P30L...so yes, I actually chose my gun in part due to holster availability but it beats buying a gun and then not being able to find a holster for it. I know without a doubt that I like the VMII, most of my primary carry guns have ridden in one so why change?

From left to right: Les Baer SRP, HK45, Nighthawk Talon-Recon, Glock 19

As for the P30, the first thing anyone will talk about is the grip. I do have to say that this is probably the most customizable handgun grip on the market with what comes from the manufacturer.

Stock Photo from HK USA Website, P30 LEM shown

Three different back straps, and three different side panels allow the user to "custom fit" the gun to their hand. I've got it set up with the large back strap and large right side panel and it almost mirrors the feel of my HK45 with the large back strap. The left side back strap is the medium and I may change it to the small to reduce friction on my side when worn IWB.  

A nice feature of the P30 family is that the decocker is not operated by a frame mounted lever like the USP line, it took the de-cocker location of the P2000 and is a button located to the left of the hammer. What this means to us that use the P30S is a C&L manner, is that we don't have to worry about de-cocking the hammer by mashing down too hard on the safety lever.

Stock Photo from HK USA Website: HK P30S

The safety lever is also metal, a step up when compared to the USP and HK45 as far as I'm concerned. However this does mean that over time the safety will show the same discoloration as the slide stop levers and turn kind of a goldish bronze. Not really  a big issue, but I may have the small parts Cerakoted if the wear gets too bad. Time will tell.

**Edited to add: I also like that there is a "detent ball" of sorts under the left side safety lever (will add pics later) that makes the safety much more positive in it's engagement than the the USP or HK45. One other issue, is that when carried C&L, there is a cavernous amount of open space for dirt, lint, etc. to build up in the hammer & sear components..

As much as I like the operation of the de-cocker, one issue I can see happening is that while drawing or re-holstering using the "thumb cap" method that the de-cocker may be actuated and one may end up with a double action first shot when expecting a single action first shot. This will be something that I watch for and will report back later with my findings.

The gun itself is just slightly larger than the Glock 19 which is pretty much the quintessential concealed carry gun, and for me this is good as the grip on the Glock 19 is just a hair too short for my liking and the P30 is just the right size. Despite having a sub 4" barrel, the pistol is quite accurate and like most guns, is more than accurate enough for defense and competition purposes. The one issue I have with the gun is HK's choice of sights, like the HK45, the P30S has the "luminous" sights and I personally find the three-dot arrangement too busy and will be replacing the rear sight in "6-8 weeks" with some newly produced 10-8 rear sights (not yet released but coming soon) to hopefully get a less busy sight picture.

The reset of the gun is a little longer than I'm used too, but by no means intolerable. A trip out for some action work may be in the gun's future, but as of right now I'm OK with it as is.

Additional Pictures:

De-cocker location, note "cavernous" space inside hammer channel area

Additional view of lint trap.

Metal safety levers, each pinned to hammer axle

Thumb safety, note discoloration and detent

Home is where....

The heart is...supposedly.

This is the first time I've made a post about something that wasn't directly related to guns, after all the name of the place is Guns, Guns, and More Gosh Darn Guns, not Guns, Guns, and More Gosh Darn Guns plus some random crap about my day or what I had for dinner etc.

But this one was just too close to home not to share.

I'm prior service Marine Corps, and did in fact leave Active Duty as a "Terminal Lance" although that in itself is a whole other story.

There's a web-comic (also featured in The Marine Corps Times) called "Terminal Lance" and while it is geared mainly towards Marines of the '03' persuasion (it really is a persuasion and not just a job field) I follow it with great interest and down right joy. Despite being a POG (person other than grunt) I did spend a fair amount of time within an Infantry Line Company and even then not all of his strips are Infantry Specific and any Marine can enjoy his work/writings.


Today's strip had me nodding quite a bit with this block of text:

"You’ll meet new people, see new things–new worlds even; and they won’t even begin to understand it. Going home will never be the same again, and being home for too long finds you in the precarious position of wishing you were gone again. The very idea of home becomes a distant memory, because it’s never the same as it was. It’s not that home has changed, in fact it’s remained largely the same. Sure, maybe some new stores or restaurants popped up while you were gone, but it’s hardly any different."

 I'm originally from Michigan and enlisted the fall after graduating high school and not much has changed, even after being out for almost 10 years. I no longer consider Michigan my home, much more now after my mother's passing. For the most part I consider Pennsylvania home, but that again is a different story.

The service, especially the Marine Corps can change your life in so many ways. I owe the Corps a great deal. It taught me a whole lot of things, landed me in my current profession, introduced me to my wife, helped me buy our first home...the benefits of that service have paid off in spades. The one thing it took from me is home, and that is one thing I gave up willfully and ultimately have no regrets over. While there are certain aspects of "home" that I miss, as a whole I have no desire to return.

Sorry for the rambling, in other news....

I've got my P30S!

HK P30S 9mm

The Gun Bug....

No, not Back Up Gun...the bug that bites you and starts the gears turning about that next purchase. I've got it bad. There's four guns on my want list right now. I've been shopping around for an AR in .308 for a while and have pretty much settled on the Colt SP901 once it's available (barring any serious issues with the gun of course), but I've been wanting to add a single action revolver, preferably a .45LC/45ACP Ruger Blackhawk Convertible to my collection for use in NRA classes, but then there's the deal I found on a Les Baer SRP that's honestly too good to pass up, and of course there's the HK P30S /LS that I've been wanting for about two years...

So...what's the gun bug got you going after?



On a side note, I've started clearing out the holster crate and have raised almost $300 to go to my next gun purchase. That's pretty close to the price of the Ruger .45 I saw over the weekend and almost half way to the HK, but not quite 1/4 of the Colt or the Baer. Gotta' give it more time I guess.

Was Able to Check Out a HK P30S Today.

TBefore I was really interested in the Hk45, I was wanting a P30S or P30LS, today I was able to get my hands on a P30S and I really like the feel of the gun. It's almost half an inch greater in height than a Glock 19 but has the same capacity of 15+1. I've always been a fan of .45s but when you get into the .45s with the capacity of a 9mm, you're looking at one chunky handgun. Even with the more svelte lines of the Hk45, the P30 felt down right nimble in comparison. Might have to get serious about adding one to the stable...