Triangle Tactical Podcast - Competitive Shooting, Mostly

For Episode 100 we decided to do something a little special: We got our paws on an HK VP9 and a Walther PPQ and took them to the range to shoot side by side with Bob who's been on the podcast in Episodes 30 and 54. We shot about 300 rounds between the two pistols, rotating shooters, and doing our best to find out where the weak points are on both of them. The two pistols are surprisingly similar, both being polymer 9mm service pistols close in size to the Glock 19. Both the VP9 and PPQ hold 15 rounds on 9mm in the magazine, and aesthetically they look very close.

The full review on the HK VP9 vs. Walther PPQ can be found on the blog.

We spend a lot of time on the blog and podcast talking about how it’s much superior to learn skills to actually get better at something (shooting mostly) than buying new tools that don’t actually make you better. After talking with Ben a bit this week though, we realized that sometimes buying something new can help to make you better, because having the cool new thing gives you more motivation to practice.

IDPA ruled the CZ Accu-Shadow illegal for SSP division just hours before the IDPA Nationals started. This decision left definitely put a hurting on some shooters who were traveling across the country to shoot the Nationals because of the poor timing of it.

The California school vice-principal that we talked about in Episode 97 is now suing for wrongful arrest because he was not breaking the law when arrested for having a handgun on school grounds. Turns out, a California CCW permit allows the permit holder to carry in a school. (Yet an NC permit does not…)

We play the audio of a 911 call from a Phoenix, AZ woman who was confronted by a home invader that she ended up shooting. It’s interesting to hear the difference in the woman’s voice before the shooting, after the shooting, and once the police arrive. She goes from whispering so she won’t be found by him, to yelling and telling him to shut up after shooting him, to sounding like shes about ready to hyperventilate once the police officers take control of the scene. I edited the clip pretty heavily in the podcast to save time, but you can hear the entire thing in the above link.

This week we plugged Instagram in general. If you like easily consumed shooting match videos, get over on instagram and follow the #IDPA and #USPSA hashtags. We’re over there too, so make sure to follow us as well.

September is National Preparedness Month, so take some time to prepare for things that will actually happen.

Water will become undrinkable or stop flowing to the tap

Tires go flat

Fires happen

The month is about half gone already, so go change the batteries in your smoke detector, buy a couple cases of water, and check the air pressure in your spare tire. Don’t put it off.

We really like all of the voicemails we’ve been getting lately, but we need more of them.

You can click here to leave one from your computer

You can call (919) 295-6128 and leave one right from your phone

Or you can just record something however you like and email it to

This week we talk about the future of NC gun laws. In the past 5 or so years we’ve seen huge gains in the concealed carry laws in the state, but we would like to see more.

Handguns in cars on school campuses

Sealed records for CCW permit holders (no more databases listing home addresses for us)

Weight of law removed from no-guns signs

Standardized no-gun signs (if we can’t get the above changed)

Campus carry

Ability to carry a concealed fixed blade knife

Repeal of Pistol Purchase Permit

For a few weeks now, we’ve been asking y’all to write in to [email protected] and tell us about your first shooting match. This week Gerrit wrote in an awesome email about his first match. He talks about getting to the match way too early, bringing way too much stuff, and then getting disqualified. He didn’t quit, and he’s still shooting! Thanks for the email Gerrit!

Rico left us a voicemail about shooting with our concealed carry gear vs. long slide competition guns. He doesn’t think that people should use long slide pistols for competition at all.

Steve also called in to tell us about taking the class to get his range card at the Wake County Firearms Education and Training Center, and he had a question about how the WCFETC matches will differ from an IDPA match.

[email protected]

I'm being told that this episode had some technical issues, they are fixed now!

We asked the Facebook Page for their competition shooting gripes, and we received a ton of responses. This week we went through a bunch of them and tried to explain the intent behind the rule, or the reason that others share the same gripe.

 Competition in General:

- Competition shooting will get you iced on the streets

 USPSA

- "I don't want to compete against those people with open guns!"

- "Using "gamer" gear doesn't make you better with concealed carry gear!"

- "The "Speed Unload" will get you killed in a gunfight!"

 IDPA

- Cover

- Appendix Carry

- No moving reloads (Did you really move and reload before the rule change? really?)

- Can't drop an empty magazine with a round in the chamber

The News

California's 10 day waiting period to buy a firearm has been mostly repealed. A judge ruled that it didn't make any sense to make someone who already owns a bunch of guns wait 10 days to buy another one. The ruling was stayed for 180 days to give the state time to react.

Harnett County, NC has re-issued operation permits to Drake Landing. Drake Landing is a wonderful sporting clays facility just south of Fuquay Varina that has been under fire from neighbors for several years. They have new restrictions as to the types of guns that can be shot there (No pistols bigger than a .45, and no rifles larger than a .22) but at the very least it appears that they will remain open.

A California public school vice principal was arrested after it was found that he had a gun in his office. He was later released when they figured out that since he has a California concealed carry permit he wasn't breaking the law.

An Ohio woman was accosted by two men while walking her dog on a greenway path. One of the men was armed with a baseball bat, and told the woman that she was going to come with them. The woman asked them a question while she slipped her hand into her pocket, and retrieved and readied her pistol. The thugs not wanting to shot fled the scene, and Police are still looking for them.

New Shooter Testamonials

Sean from NCGunBlog.com sent in a voicemail to tell us about his first IDPA match. He's hooked.

If you want to send in a testimonial about your first shooting match, email [email protected] (bonus points if you send a voicemail).

Plug of the Week

This week we plug ourselves... sorta. Ben and I were on the 2AToday podcast a few weeks back and we had a great time wrapping up their "Battleground States" series. We talk about the states that have seen a reduction in gun rights recently, and compare and contrast some of the different things that have been happening in those states.

Shooting competitively with your concealed carry gear is a great way to shake out bugs in your carry rig. On Saturday night Ben and I both shot the PDHSC/Shoot2Live IDPA match in south Raleigh. Before the match Ben mentioned that he was going to shoot his carry gun in the match, and I followed suit. Ben shot his M&P9c from an IWB holster on his hip, and I shot my XDs 9mm from a Crossbreed MiniTuck.

I had a handful of issues with my carry gun, like riding the slide-lock with my thumb forcing myself to have to do reloads on a closed chamber, and cycle the slide. I had to deal with shooting a sweaty pistol since half of the range isn’t air conditioned, and dealing with a t-shirt for concealment instead of an IDPA tactical fishing vest proved to be somewhat troublesome as well.

Texas Governor Rick Perry is under indictment for 2 felony counts of abuse of power. With this comes the realization that Perry can no longer carry concealed, or purchase firearms. You’ll remember that Perry used his concealed carry pistol in self defense a while back.

CNN’s Don Lemon claimed that “during the theatre shooting in Colorado” he was able to purchase an automatic weapon in 20 minutes. He goes on to show us that he doesn’t understand the difference between semi-automatic and fully-automatic.

A bill has been introduced in the US House to ban “enhanced body armor” for citizens. Yes, let’s ban a product that can keep innocent people from getting shot…

The anti-gun Moms put some pressure on Kroger to “ban” guns in their stores recently. They didn’t get the answer they wanted, and now some of them are proposing that they should start causing a loss to the company in order to get their way. Linoge put it perfectly, in that they are basically running a protection racket like organized crime…

This week we plugged Sean Sorrentino’s new podcast called the Gun Blog Variety Cast. It’s a variety show format with a bunch of your favorite gun bloggers talking about all sorts of interesting stuff. I was able to get a sneak peak at Episode 1, and it was very entertaining. Check it out.

Contact

In the first version of this episode that was released, we mentioned that the Triangle Tactical T-Shirts were "$15 shipped" and that isn't accurate. They are $15 plus shipping. I bought a bunch of the shirts and shipping was very reasonable. Just want to make sure there's no confusion...

This week Ben and I dive into the Skills>Tools topic again. Ben brings up some interesting points about going from a pistol with a lot of modifications to a mostly stock pistol and seeing improvements in his shooting.

The News:

The Wake County FETC Action Pistol Matches are returning in September! Stand by for more details.

Triangle Tactical T-Shirts are available for purchase until August 28th, 2014. Click here to get yours!

A Federal Judge ruled that AR-15's and other guns are unusual, and not protected by the second amendment.

We talk a little about Ferguson, MO and police militarization. Just like with gun control, the issue isn't the guns and gear, it's how they use it.

Durham, NC is still hanging on to their gun registry under the guise that it has some historical significance.

Plug of the Week:

Episode 380 of Down Range Radio: Michael Bane talks a bit about dealing with someone knocking on your door in the middle of the night. It's good stuff.

Listener Feedback:

Chris from Minnesota:

Ryan in NC

Zack:

Contact:

This week on the podcast I had the chance to sit down with Candy Sugarman of the Gun Powder Gals. Candy is doing some great things for women in the shooting community right here in Eastern NC. Candy got her start shooting by going to the NRA Women's Wilderness Escape, and after getting home she got home she started looking for a group of women to shoot with, and after not being able to find anything, she started the Gun Powder Gals.

Her goals with the Gun Powder Gals is to make sure that women are prepared, and able to protect themselves should they be put in a situation where they need to use a gun. Candy and I talk about some of the reasons why women tend to shy away from the shooting sports, and what she is doing in order to get more women involved.

The Gun Powder Gals have been holding women's only IDPA matches, 2-Gun clinics, range days, and a lot more for women interested in shooting in the area. In 2015 she is looking to hold a women's concealed carry fashion show to show off some of the concealed carry options for women.

Tip of the Week:

Before you shoot, make sure that you have the correct ammo for your gun. I found a handful of these on the range today, and had to shake my head...

Contact Us:

• Leave a voicemail from your phone at (919) 295-6128
  Leave a voicemail from your computer
• Email us:
  • [email protected]
  • [email protected]

Weapon mounted lights are pretty awesome. They offer a lot of advantages over a handheld light, in that you don't have to fumble with two things in your hand, you can fire the gun with full grip strength using both hands, and they really make shooting in the dark as close to shooting in daylight as you can get. There are two arguments against weapon mounted lights, and both of them are unfounded these days:

IDPA and USPSA don't allow weapon mounted lights, because of the huge advantage that they offer. That's fine for games, but if they offer such a big advantage, it sounds like something that I'd want in a gunfight.

If you have a defensive long gun, using a handheld light really isn't an option at all. A good option is a pistol mounted light that can pull dual duty on a pistol and a long gun. In the episode, Ben mentioned the Mossie Tactics light mount for adding his Streamlight TLR-1 to an AR-15 with a standard front sight block. You need to play around with mounting the light in different locations, and decide what works best for you. Some people like them mounted closer/further from the muzzle, and in different orientations around the handguard (12 o'clock, 9 o'clock, etc.).

The News:

Ruger announced the LC9s this week, which is a striker fired version of the Ruger LC9. It's supposed to have half the trigger length of the standard LC9, and a 5lb trigger that has been described as "glock like". Unfortunately it has the full gamut of lawyer features (thumb safety, trigger safety, and magazine disconnect). It's awesome that Ruger is listening though, and decided to make the striker fired version of this pistol. Ben suggested that they should make a "Free State" version without the thumb safety and magazine disconnect. Ruger, if you're listening, I'd buy one. Or two.

The Kansas City, MO city council voted unanimously this last week to ban open carry in the city. Fortunately though for lovers of liberty in the city, it looks like the state legislature is set to override the veto of a bill that will make it illegal for the city of Kansas City to do this.

Listener Feedback:

Jeremy wrote into the Facebook page to ask about power factor, and Gerrit wrote in an email asking about gun modifications for Production division in USPSA.

Contact Us:

The Palmer vs. DC case has been the giant news piece from the past week, and the decision only came out on Saturday. Ben and I dive deep into the decision and talk about what lead up to it, what it all means (We're not lawyers though...) and where we think the decision will take us in the future. As mentioned in the episode, you should follow @EmilyMiller on twitter, and Alan Gura's blog where he's posting updates as well.

The News:

A Pennsylvania doctor used his concealed handgun to save his life this week. A crazed madman entered the office where the doctor was working and murdered a woman before being engaged in gunfire from the doctor who had a concealed handgun. Both the doctor and the scumbag were shot, with the scumbag eventually being wrestled to the ground and detained until police could arrive. It appears as though the doctor may keep his job, even though he violated hospital policy by carrying on the property.

A group of misguided moms counter-protested an Open Carry Texas event last week, and they did it topless. We're not sure why.

Remington announced that they will be taking back every R51 pistol made, re-tooling and re-working the design, and replacing all of them with new pistols.

An Iowa resident with a CCW permit took over a police chase after an officer was injured, and held 5 suspects at gunpoint until other police could get there to take over. His name? Eastwood. Someone please tell me he carries a .44mag!

A man found his brother wrestling with an armed home invader in the middle of the night. He retrieved his gun, and confronted the 15 year old home invader, who dropped his gun, and started crying. It's a good lesson that not all threats are crazed madmen, sometimes they are stupid kids being stupid.

Listener Feedback:

Mark from Ohio wrote into the show to tell us about shooting his first competitive shooting match. Sounds like he had a great time!

“So I had an awesome time at the match! I thought I did ok considering it was my first one, at least I stayed competitive. I think it's safe to assume I'm hooked. Thanks to you guys for planting the seed!”

Tip of the Week:

When planning a stage at a match, keep track of the number of rounds, not the number of targets, especially of it's a game where different targets get a different number of rounds.

Contact Us:

This week on the podcast, Ben and I discuss some of the funny things that have happened on the shooting range while shooting matches over the years. Full shownotes will be at http://www.triangletactical.net/91