Once upon a time I thought full-size handguns were the way to go for "duty" carry. You know, law enforcement, open carry in the woods, home defense, and end-of-the-world. Longer sight radius, better grip, more capacity in say a Glock 17. Heck, when I started buying my own guns I was still under the impression of my agency's Sig P226s.

Well as it turns out full-size guns aren't great concealed (or open) carry pieces. They're big, heavy, and the long grip likes to bang into stuff. You sit funny in cars. That's why police cars have "special" seats from the factory in some cases (not sure what's so special about them). That grip length is unnecessary.

There's a reason that special forces gravitate towards the compact Glock 19 and why it's so popular with detectives and concealed carriers. Even a lot of uniformed cops carry them. The grip length is just short enough not to be obtrusive when sitting but long enough to get a proper grip.

Now we're seeing even thinner guns that grip better than the chonky Glock grip, like the Sig P365 or Glock 48 (half a G19). The short grip lengths of the original P365 or the Glock 26/43 aren't ideal for shooting, so we see people really enjoy the longer grip modules that create a kinda inverted L shape.

It's interesting to see how taste has evolved regarding form in guns and how that bigger isn't always better. All of this change and innovation has been driven by concealed carry—the civilian market—whereas before it was all about cops, soldiers, and competition shooters. Nice to live in the time we do.

Review wise, I'm enjoying carrying and shooting the P365 in lieu of the thicker G26 (width is another factor I didn't touch on much here). More practical data when the weather warms up.

All the problems I've been having with my Glock 44 all of a sudden? Resolved by cleaning the chamber and using different ammo. This Magtech stuff disappointed me. Very weak, evidently enough to where it's struggling to cycle the slides and I got a few light "pops" that made me think I had squib loads for a second. Changed over to a variety of other ammo and the gun ran as fine as it has.

The curse of high IQ; you start with the hard problems before going to the easy, most likely ones because where's the fun in that? On the other hand, I won't need to change a spring in this gun for years now probably and when I do, I have spares.  I compared it against my G19 and the skills carry over even with the higher recoil. For what was a short-term testing & evaluation gun, this thing is kicking ass.

So I think my "cheap" ammo will now be Aguila because I've had good luck with that. I'll finish off the 4500 rounds of Magtech I have in a revolver or something. The Federal Punch is a pretty impressive cartridge for a .22 out of a pistol. Loud and accurate. I wouldn't use a .22 for self-defense, but this super high velocity cartridge lives up to the marketing; it's a competitor for CCI's best stuff (though maybe not in price).

UNLV is a gun free zone. Per state law, it's illegal to possess a firearm without written permission, which is superlatively seldom granted. What else can be said than law do not save lives? Each victim could have had a chance to defend themselves if their human right of self-defense to carry a firearm wasn't disrespected. Signs and laws do not deter killers; the ability and willingness of would-be victims to fight back with effective means, guns, does.

In the coming days and months we will hear calls for more gun control and attempts to blame this event on guns. No so. Blame lies squarely with a depraved heart and mind and misguided policies that keep victims helpless. Any calls for gun control or laying the blame elsewhere than at the feet of the murderer and those who make such evil policies possible are horrendous calumnies.

Gun free zones kill. A concealed carrier may not be the hero all the time, but citizens, even students, deserve the chance to fight back effectively.

To quote a friend on a gun forum:

"The state legislature had the direct opportunity to address this a few years ago with Amanda Collins' bill to allow licensed students to carry on campus. It passed the state senate. Assembly Judiciary Chairman William Horne refused to bring the bill up for a vote, and is directly and personally bloodguilty for any self-defense he prevented."

Nevada System of Higher Education (colleges & universities) Campus Firearm Approval and Denials
Calendar Years 2012 - August 1, 2017

Firearms are prohibited on college/university property, including in parking lots, except with written permission, which is seldom granted (NRS 202.265):

"1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person shall not carry or possess while on the property of the Nevada System of Higher Education, a private or public school or child care facility, or while in a vehicle of a private or public school or child care facility:
(f) A pistol, revolver or other firearm; or
3. This section does not prohibit the possession of a weapon listed in subsection 1 on the property of: (a) A private or public school or child care facility by a:  (3) Person having written permission from the president of a branch or facility of the Nevada System of Higher Education or the principal of the school or the person designated by a child care facility to give permission to carry or possess the weapon."

As contained in the links above, permission is rarely granted and considered virtually impossible to obtain.

Sig P365 is good to go and balls-on accurate. No grouping photos as I shot steel. The mags were super stiff and need a loading tool. The gun can be a little snappy as its small size doesn't absorb much recoil, but I see this as an issue for the elderly and women more than dudes. One of the larger models (XL, Macro) will do better as they have more mass.

Remember to try any carry ammo before carrying. Make sure it feeds. I also liked the pink Hornady Critical Defense Lite (100gr "low recoil") though the 115 American Gunner XTP wasn't much snappier. The Winchester 115gr FMJ was definitely stronger. Lighter weight bullets develop more velocity as a matter of basic physics.

I will also be looking into non-deformation rounds, like the Underwood Xtreme Defense or Leigh Defense XD Phillips-nosed bullets. I don't want velocity-dependent hollow points coming out of a 3" barrel. Shorter barrel guns need higher velocity (think +P) rounds to go faster more quickly as less barrel = less time to speed up. Some cartridges are "formulated" for ultra-compact guns. Traditional hollow points will perform less favorably in shorter barrels, but it's kinda a small difference and accuracy is ultimately what matters. Even so, isn't polishing the cannonball what gun enthusiasts do anyway?

I'm happy with it so far. Now I'll begin carrying it and we'll see how that goes before I feel I can truly endorse it

 In 2020, I acquired a Glock 44 .22LR for testing and evaluation. Well, after approaching 20k rounds it has finally become "unreliable" (not due to ammo). Failures to eject and stovepipes, mostly. Failure to feed has been a low-power ammo and needs-cleaning issue. So what's going on after no issues, other than not keeping it clean or weak/cheap ammo?

There is probably grit inside the slide or a spring has worn out after thousands upon thousands of rounds. I do a detail strip and thorough cleaning after every 2000 rounds or so and the gun functions well after. Remember that a lot of .22 is super dirty and will foul guns easily. Heck, I even wash my Glock in soap and water before thoroughly blow drying and oiling. I think there is probably gunk in the ejector spring channel or a spring is worn out. Springs are wear items, after all.

I continue to be happy with this rather reluctant purchase and think it is an excellent cost-effective training platform. Just keep it clean!

Now, despite wanting a Springfield Hellcat to replace my Glock 26/43, I bought a Sig P365 for evaluation. Hey Sig, I'd love T&E guns! The purpose for this test will be to see if it is a viable replacement for a Glock 26. The 10 round capacity vs. the single stack 6 round Glock 43 is no real test, but does the smaller size of the P365 (smallest on the market) make it more viable from a value standpoint than simply sticking with my slightly larger G26?

Hold them hand in hand, I'm not so sure. The Sig must balance different because it feels heavier than the Glock, which can't be true because the Sig is 3oz lighter. But of course, the weight is in the ammo. The weight of a 115 grain bullet 9mm cartridge is 185 grains (total cartridge weight) or 12 grams or .42 ounces. 10 rounds are therefore another 4.2 ounces, which will be the same for each gun. So:

• Sig P365 18.5oz unloaded and 22.7oz loaded (10 R)
• Glock 26 21.7oz unloaded and 25.9 loaded (10R)

Is three ounces difference really going to make that big of a difference on my beltline? Probably not.

Now the Sig P365 is smaller. It's barrel is a half-inch shorter, though in the three-inch class I'm not sure it matters that much. These are mugging distance guns. Overall, the Sig is over two-thirds (.69) of an inch shorter. Length is less of an issue for concealed carry since length is going down your pants (ha ha ha ha). I'm not thrilled about the height difference of two-tenths of an inch which seems to be because the Sig has a weird tilted toe. However, preliminary concealment tests haven't shown this to be much of an issue. We'll see. In some environments, this might mean gun or no gun. Width is clearly the Sig's strong suit at exactly an inch. No way the Glock can beat that.

So in the Sig P365's case, is it noticeably lighter and more concealable than a Glock 26 to make it worth the $600? We'll see. Watch this space.

Can the Nevada governor ban open and concealed carry by emergency fiat like the New Mexico governor?
 
No. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina where gun confiscation actually happened, Congress and many of the states rushed to pass legislation limiting emergency powers. COVID showed us that emergency powers given to state governors all them to become actual dictators and many of the feckless legislators allow them to wield those powers without complaint.
 
So in the case of New Mexico, the leftist Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan banned the open and concealed carry of firearms for 30 days in Albuquerque (calling them “privileges”) due to a bunch of murders in that town. She basically acknowledged it was symbolic and both the county sheriff and the police chief made wishy-washy statements that they wouldn’t really be enforcing it.
 
Not only does this order fly in the face of the New Mexico state constitution and the US Constitution, especially the Bruen precedent, it’s unconscionable. It can only be pandering to the left’s political base and a trial balloon to see what far-left governors can get away with. That being said, let’s look at Nevada.

So no, not even anti-gun Sisolak could do anything about guns in a state of emergency. You may recall places like Bass Pro Shops being unable to sell sporting goods equipment during the shutdown but the gun counter being open (though empty).
 
Finally, your rights to self-defense and to bear arms are inalienable and cannot be taken away by an emergency order. All you have to do is not get caught, which can be a little tricky, but as they say about those folks in Maui, “only those who disobeyed survived.”

I bought this PSA Dagger complete upper (slide) and Holosun sight a few months ago. It was a great deal and the quality is great. Slipped right on my Gen 3 Glock 19 frame. I have no complaints about the sight or the slide. It gets flying colors for my reviews.

However, the sighting system troubles me, as it does a lot of experienced shooters. Learning to shoot a pistol red dot is a new skillset and it's not coming easily. I'm sure it will with practice, but I need to shoot a lot. That means 9mm will be expensive. For the cost of 1000 rounds of 9mm I can shoot 5000 of .22. So I'm pretty sure I'll be buying a Sig P320 with a Romeo Zero. 

As for this assembly, I may dispose of it or keep it and see. I don't know yet. I certainly would not have bought it except to review (probably the same with the Sig with the Romeo Zero). 

So a few years ago I bought a Glock 44 for a quick review; the intent was to shoot it and sell it. Turns out, I love that gun. At 10-15k rounds (I lost count), it has held up well. I still think that it hits a few inches low, but I haven't gotten around to calling customer service.

Anyhow, the gun is dead reliable. After about 1000 rounds with no cleaning, I might have some failures to extract or feed, but that's mostly ammo related. It definitely prefers to be a clean gun. Even so, it doesn't have to be pristine and it will keep eating ammo for a long time, just like a 9mm Glock.

My shooting skills have improved tremendously now that I can shoot 300-1000 rounds a session for very cheap. I do this usually every weekend in the summer, less in the colder months. It is an excellent training platform and the recoil is enough, thanks to the lightweight polymer hybrid slide, to have to keep a proper sight picture, just like on a full-size cartridge. People tout dry fire but I tout combat style .22 pistols.

My armorer/rangemaster buddy and his wife love the gun. It's fun to shoot. The 10 round mags suck and the Promag 18 rounders suck more (the loading tools 3D printers sell online help), but just buy like 10 or more magazines so you can load while the gun cools down and shoot a long string.

Up next is a Sig P322 with a red dot sight, to learn that system on the cheap. I see the point of pistol dots, but I'm not convinced they're for me. I'll review that gun and put a few thousand rounds through it and see how I feel about them after. Not sure I'll keep that gun, but we'll do a long term (like six month) test on it and see.

All in all, I would never have bought a .22 pistol, especially the Glock 44, if it wasn't something I could review, but I'm very glad that I did. Whatever your platform of choice is, I recommend getting the .22 equivalent to train realistically very cheaply and have fun at the same time.

Sine day has come and gone; the three anti-gun bills that passed out of the legislature were vetoed by Governor Lombardo (thanks, Joe!). He might have differing views on guns be he can be counted on doing the right thing by us single-issue voters.

Note: this bill is inoffensive but it does place a burden on gun dealers to post a sign about negligent storage (I'm sure that'll do something) and provide a gun lock with each gun sale or transfer. This will add costs to the consumer and will apply to private sales. However, the additional training required of school districts and police regarding active shooters is not a bad thing. Essentially, this bill is a status-quo bill. 

None of the measures imposed on gun dealers or gun owners will have a meaningful impact on violence or incidents of children bringing guns to schools. It is a "feel-good" bill that does nothing to alter the behavior of persons who already have the means at their disposal to secure their firearms. A cheap lock will not apply itself no deter a determined and intelligent juvenile from accessing a gun. The problems with kids bringing guns to school is one rooted in poor parenting and a culture that celebrates violence.

Clark County School District officials are complaining about kids bringing guns to school. They rightly blame the parents, but for the wrong reasons. Safe storage (locking them away from kids) is one part of the equation. 

The school district wants to encourage and educate families about safe storage, which is a laudable goal and actual gun safety (versus the gun control deceptively branded as "safety"). Safe storage is not the problem. It is trivial to secure a gun against casually putting it in a backpack. Trigger and cable locks are handed out for free. Virtually every gun comes in a lockable plastic case. Small safes are easy to find. All of these steps will prevent a child from simply getting access. Of course, they won't stop a child smart enough to break the lock/case from getting it, but they will serve as a basic deterrent if only through mom or dad noticing the damage.

Poor parenting is the problem. The kind of parents who have kids that take guns to school are going to disproportionately be low-class (behaviorally speaking), who offer their children minimal supervision and discipline, and would are undeterred by the potential of criminal charges for negligently allowing their kid access to a gun. In contrast, parents who would lock up their guns and teach their kids not to mess around with them probably have raised their children in such a way that, if the gun was accessible, the kid wouldn't take it to school.

So what CCSD is facing is a bunch of crappy parents who can't do the right thing in the first place. The root of the problem with guns in schools is with the parenting, not the gun safe. All the education, laws, and locks in the world won't matter a damn if the parent doesn't care, doesn't use them, and won't raise their kid right.