Changing of the Guard

The Year of Carrying Double-Action didn't work out the way I wanted it to. Initially I was going to tote the Langdon Beretta for a month or two at the beginning of 2019 while I sorted out which plastic double action I'd finish out the year with. One thing led to another and I wound up toting the LTT for the whole year and doing all my schooling and gaming that year with the Spaghetta. I didn't settle into carrying the Grayguns Sig SP2022 until the start of 2020...and then 2020 happened.

What little gun school I managed to get in this year was incidental to various product launches and therefore used whatever guns were provided there. While I toted the Sig for the whole year, between ammo shortages and 'Rona, it just didn't see much work. After Thanksgiving I just put the SP2022 away and finished out the year carrying a 1911 in a Milt Sparks VM-2, waiting for the calendar page to flip...

And now it's 2021 and time for my next CCW gun project. Like I said, I didn't get to much gun school last year, but what little I did all involved shooting dot-sighted guns. Plus, early last year I wrapped up a 2,000 round test on the FN 509 Compact MRD with the Trijicon SRO. I was intrigued by the little gun, only slightly larger than a Glock 26, but with an optic, a usefully-sized accessory rail, and a 12+1 round capacity (15+1 with the 'stendo).

So the plan is for 2021's carry gun to be the little peanut butter colored FN with a mounted Trijicon SRO and a Streamlight TLR-7. I'm initially carrying it in a Spark holster generously provided by Henry Holsters. For now it's strong-side IWB until I shed the COVID nineteen (probably closer to COVID twenty-five, but the bathroom scale's on the fritz).

Whatever classes I manage to enroll in or matches I manage to shoot this year will be with the little FN. The idea of a subcompact pistol with a reasonable mag capacity and a usefully-bright WML is intriguing. I'm not a believer in the necessity of a WML on a carry gun, but I think they're very useful on a firearm used for home defense. Traditionally, this meant either carrying a bulky light you didn't need, or using separate pistols for carry & home, or mounting and removing a WML on your carry gun every morning and evening...none of which are what I'd call optimal solutions. So this is kind of a workaround for all that, a "have your cake and eat it, too" thing.

We'll see.

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Auditions have started!

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It begins @indyarmscompany ... #czp07 #berettapx4storm #grayguns #sigsauersp2022 #hkp30l #indyarmsco #pewpewlife #igmilitia

A post shared by Tamara Keel (@tamarakeel) on Jan 4, 2019 at 8:49am PST

A new year brings a new blaster.

From December 2015 until the first day of January 2018, I was carrying Glocks. First a Gen3 19 that was pretty quickly supplanted by a Gen4 19, and that gun remained my carry gun until replaced by a 19X for the last few month or so.

The Year(ish) of TDA is finally off the ground, however, and I'm carrying the long-term test Langdon Tactical 92 Elite LTT until I determine my preference among the plastic fantastic below:

Off to the range this morning to get this party started...
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#triggered

Ambulance Driver has some comments on the Langdon Beretta and Grayguns P30L he got to try out at Blogorado. There is a level three beverage alert attached to the post, so get a drop cloth on that keyboard.

It begins...

My range day at B'rado mostly consisted of me busting open the Case Club 8-pistol case and letting the other attendees get their hands on trying out some of the test goodies inside. (Incidentally, I bought this case last year and it's seen two Blogorados and one New Hampshire trip and has put up with everything Delta baggage handlers and sliding around in the back of a pickup on dirt roads can throw at it. Recommend.)

I mostly took pictures of other people shooting*, but MattG was kind enough to use my camera to grab a few shots of me putting rounds downrange. Above is me with the Grayguns P225. Obviously my recoil control is still awful because of pain in my left shoulder.

That's me busting caps with the Langdon Tactical 92 Elite LTT.

The improvement in shootability for both these guns has to be felt to be believed. Both have been 100% reliable thus far, as well.


*Me going to the range on vacation is something of a busman's holiday these days.
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Double Action Summer Autumn

This summer was supposed to be an experiment for me. Having had good experiences on the 2,000-round tests with the HK P30L and the CZ-75B Omega, I was going to spend three months or so extensively shooting several of the better traditional DA/SA guns on the market with an eye toward adopting one as my next carry gun. This would coincide with me switching to an AIWB holster, having lost a bunch of weight.

Well, all that got put off by the broken collarbone, so now it's going to be the autumn of Traditional Double Action instead of the summer of ditto.

It started with yesterday's range trip:

My HK P30L just got back from Grayguns, where it had received their Reduced Reset Carry Perfection Package. The DA pull is indeed lighter and smoother, and the shorter reset is immediately noticeable.

Also on deck was the Langdon Tactical Beretta 92 Elite LTT. The trigger on this thing is phenomenal. Between the "D" mainspring and the Wilson Combat trigger bar and a few other enhancements, it's among the nicest DA/SA triggers I've played with.

Both guns shot extremely well...

This target was from me just railing on the guns, doing big goofy mag dumps from seven yards.

This is gonna be a fun few months, because there's more to come...
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