The Glock 43 – Finally

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2015-04-28 18.11.50About two weeks back I was finally able to pick up GLOCK’s new single stack 9mm; the GLOCK 43. My local gun shop was very helpful with getting me one and as of today my Beretta Nano is out the door.

I love to carry GLOCK 19s but in the summer it gets a little hard not to print and that is where the cut down 26L come into play. When it gets super-hot here or when I have to wear a suit for work I went with a Beretta Nano. At the time the Nano was about a Glocky as you could get with a single stack.

The Nano is a good pistol. It has a heavy slide that helps with recoil in such a small gun. Three things that bugged me about the Nano was the endless trigger, the lack of a slide stop, and the high bore axis. The trigger on the Nano is almost endless, it’s also mushy and the reset has a lot to be desired. It is not the worse I have used but it’s pretty bad. One of my main pain points with the Nano is it does not have a slide stop, so if you want to lock the slide back you have to insert an unloaded magazine, pull the slide back to last round hold open and then remove the mag. This all seems rather stupid but Beretta will claim it’s a great tradeoff for its snag free design. It may just be me but I rarely run into my slide stop snagging on my holster or gear.

The Nano also has a high bore axis so the gun is tippy and never really feels locked into your hands. The sights are ok and I upgraded them to Berettas night sights which are actually quite nice. Beretta also sells a super tuck holster for the Nano that is the most comfortable holster I have ever owned. In the grand scheme of things the Nano has been reliable and not all that hard to shoot. It was a moment in time and the best option available when it came out.

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Beretta Nano

Enter the GLOCK 43. Thank God, I am sick of all these crappy guns trying to be like a single stack 9mm GLOCK. the M&P shield is really the only one that I like or feel is a super reliable option. The GLOCK 42 never peaked my interest. I had no desire to go down to a 380 as a primary caliber. I think it is an awesome backup gun and I have some buddies in protective details that use it just for that but I never wanted to spend the cash to downgrade. Continue reading →

GLOCK 26L – 19 chopped down to a 26 (update)

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This is the crazy tale of killing a GLOCK 19 to make it a 26L.

I have randomly been thinking about this for a while; chopping a GLOCK 19 down to a 26 length grip. I kind of like the GLOCK 26 but not enough that I would ever buy one. Really the only thing I like about the 26 is the grip length. I am not really a fan of the shorter slide or the 10 + 1 capacity. If I were to buy one, I would only use it 30 – 90 days a year and I could never justify it. If you love your 26, I mean no disrespect, I am just privy to the 19.

For summer carry I have a Beretta Nano that is good for deep concealment. But I’m not a huge fan of that pistol either. Its 6 + 1 capacity and its small stature doesn’t make it the best carry option, although it works for its intended use. At the end of the day I’m a GLOCK guy and although the Nano is about as Glocky as you can get from another company its still relegated to a summer carry or as a backup gun. Nine times out of ten I will be carrying a GLOCK 19 of some sorts. Then I saw this video:

So Pincus kind of went a little crazy here and I think he wasn’t thinking this whole thing through. I think he rushed it so he could get it on video and later regretted rushing it. He just did one fast cut without working the cutout for the front lip of the rear tail on the 26. These two pieces make the 26 far easier to shoot, especially with the Pearce grip extension. Pincus after the fact sent his cut down 23 over to Business End Customs to have it reworked. Business End Customs to their credit did a hell of of a job. You can find the whole write up HERE and this forum post that walks you through the fixing of Rob’s 23.

Everything Rob is saying in the video about the 19 and 26 is spot on. If you appendix carry, the grip of the 19 has a tendency to stick out a bit. I have never had someone call me on it but its something I’m cognizant of.That being said the 19 has a longer sight radius and little more weight out in front so the recoil management is easier. The 26 on the other hand with its shorter grip conceals much better but you have the negatives as stated above.

So all this being said I was not going to go out and by a new GLOCK 19 and cut it down, thats slightly crazy. But a few months ago I was able to pick up a Gen 2 19 that was a police trade in that I wanted to have for my collection. The frame was in good shape but the slide had seen better days. Never fear as I knew you could send the whole gun back to GLOCK to have all its parts replaced and have the slide and barrel refinished. She came back to me in about 3 weeks looking brand new except for the fact it was a Gen 2.

Around this time I saw that One Source Tactical was selling GLOCK 19 frames for a good price and since my Gen 2 slide would fit on the Gen 3 frame, this all looked like it may work out. So I pulled the trigger and OST had my frame sent off to my FFL. At this point I was thinking that maybe I would do the work but chances were good I would just send it off to have it chopped down. That’s until I looked around at the prices for this type of work. You would be better off just buying a 26. Continue reading →

Second Amendment conversation

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I first heard about Sage Dynamics in a web forum a while back where someone was trying to prove their point and they dropped one of SD’s videos in their post. I clicked on the link and was blown away by Aaron Cowan. The guy knows his shit and thinks about training, self defence, and the 2nd amendment in a very deep way with a level of understanding most miss.

This is Aaron just having an in depth conversation about the Second Amendment. Well worth your time in my opinion.

The hidden gem of axes

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“Chainsaws run out of gas, axes only run out of gas when you quit eating” – Dave Canterbury

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We have a bug out that’s in the woods. Only about an acre is open, the rest are full of pines and assorted hardwoods. Because of this our winter preparedness is based around wood as our fuel for warmth and cooking. I have a nice 18” chainsaw that is near and dear to my heart but if we were in a grid down scenario chainsaws require gas and are loud, drawing attention to yourself. Because of this I see axes as an important part of our preps.

At a basic level you can get by with one axe and the Husqvarna multipurpose axe may be that solution but if you live in the woods in my opinion you should have three axes and maybe four.

  1. First is a hatchet, a small one handed axe for prepping kindling and prepping for a fire.
  2. Next on the list is a small forest axe, also known as a house axe. This could replace the hatchet if you only wanted three. All this is, is a hatchet sized head in an 18”-20” inch handle. This allows you to get two hands on the handle. You can split wood, prep kindling, take limbs and branches off of fallen trees, and can fell small trees. This is a great axe to have around the house and if you were going to carry an axe for hunting or camping this is the size I would take. Large enough to get most of the work done but small enough to not get in the way. It should be made of good steel and be able to throw sparks. It should also be sharp enough to use as a knife if needed for starting a fire, processing game, or making notches and tools around camp.
  3. Third is a forest axe. This is an axe that is large enough to fell trees but small enough and have a light enough head to do small tasks. Generally the handle length is around 24”-28” You can split wood but also make fire sticks. You should not really have a problem taking down small trees with this axe. If you live in a heavy wooded environment this would be your go to axe around the house.
  4. Forth is a felling axe. This is your chainsaw. The head of this axe is on the heavy side; anywhere from 3 to 5 pounds. And the handle is generally over 30”. The weight of the head and the longer handle make chopping down a full size oak much easier. I will do a separate post on these and how you can save yourself a bunch of money finding old axe heads and rehanging them.

I have all four but as I mentioned the house axe can replace the hatchet if you wanted. We have a hatchet. It’s kind of piece of crap, I think I paid $7 for it but it holds a good edge and all I every use it for is processing kindling and mostly lives inside by the wood stove.  This point is important. Your axes should not live inside. It is far too dry in your house especially in the winter for an axe. The handle will shrink and your head will come loose. Because of this, my POS hatchet has always lived inside and has a synthetic handle. Continue reading →