GLOCK 43

Sweet shooting 9mm, and it's a GLOCK!  I finally had the opportunity to shoot this latest edition to the GLOCK line of handguns.  The 43 was easy and pleasant to shoot, but most of all it was reliable and very accurate out to 25 yards.  The only thing that I would change on this gun is, I would install a set of after market sights, fiber optics front with a plan black wide notched rear.   I just described the Dave Sevigny sights made by Scott Warren.  I have this same sight package installed on all of my GLOCKS.

I have to mention that it is my opinion that this should not be someones first gun purchase.  This gun is a pleasure to shoot if you are an experienced shooter.  A GLOCK 19 would be a much better choice to hone and develop your skills if you choice is to eventually have a GLOCK for self defense.  The mid size 19 is a better choice for developing that all important master firing grip and even more important at developing the smooth consistent trigger manipulation that is needed to hit your target accurately.  The larger gun will also be a lot better for working on the basic gun skills that you should possess for being efficient which will contribute to your effectiveness at neutralizing a hostile threat.

As most new shooters find out fairly quick, the small guns are less desirable to shoot when you need to put time on the range behind the gun! 

Interestin Article

Guest Editorial: Training is not Practice!

Dave Spaulding is a colleague in instruction and writing. He's widely respected for his clear thinking and great communications skills. Here he discusses training and practice. There is a difference -- and both are critical to your success. - Rich Grassi

Practice is required to reinforce lessons learned in training. The rimfire analog, ammo, a shot timer and target can be used for demand drills to reinforce trigger control and follow-through skills.

Do not let the title fool you...I am a HUGE advocate of training. Hell, I own and operate a training company and have been a certified firearms instructor since 1983. I have trained, literally, tens of thousands of people (mostly cops at the basic, in-service and advanced levels) and have been contacted by 127 former students who have been involved in armed conflict, 12 of which were on video. I have been a life-long student of the "art" of armed conflict, having interviewed over 300 people over the last three decades (Go to the HANDGUNS Magazine web site and perform a search for "What Really Happens in a Gunfight") who have been in armed conflict, thus, I understand the importance of quality training, but it is important to keep in mind training is not practice! Practice is a component of training that many folks seem to neglect.

During one of my recent courses, I had a private conversation with a student who felt compelled to tell me about all of the classes and instructors he had attended in the last year. While these people can be quite trying I have to admit I was impressed as the list was vast. As I began to inquire about what he was able to learn, practice and therefore anchor into his skills sets, it became quite apparent he had anchored nothing. As a matter of fact, his performance during live-fire training was actually lackluster. He seemed confused as to which skills went with which school/instructor and ended up being an absolute mess. What became readily apparent was he was certainly a student of weaponcraft, but he was not a practitioner as he had done nothing to select particular skills learned and anchor them into a useful set of tools to draw upon when needed. All he had done was collect a lot of information with which he had done nothing.

Please understand I think the best way to build a proper skill set is to attend a variety of instructors to see what will work best for you. Following the same instructor does little to add diversity to skills and let's face it; no one knows what they don't know. Training should be a journey of discovery. If all you do is follow the same person around, you are not a student of personal security; you are a fan boy (or girl) or what rock bands used to call groupies. While I go out of my way to maintain a low profile on the training circuit, not being controversial or confrontational, I cannot help but notice a sizeable amount of firearms training has become "flash and panache" marketing with much of it directed at "kill them all, let God sort it out" battlefield mayhem that is not appropriate for American citizens. The military mentality, which is certainly appropriate for the battlefield, will have difficulty standing up to our system of jurisprudence where what we do must be "reasonable "under the circumstances at hand. 100 yard pistol shots down the center aisle of the discount store or lumber yard, even if "your family is down there" will be really tough to justify if the wrong person is hit -- like maybe a small child . . . if it is your family, maybe YOUR child. If you or your instructor cannot take the stand and justify a tactic or technique as reasonable, then don't do it. Be very selective of those tactics and techniques you do decide to anchor.

Adult learning theory is well established and trained instructors understand the process. A skill must be explained, demonstrated and then practiced with a solid instructor/teacher correcting same as the student performs it. This is why I seek simplicity in my tactics and techniques. After all, simple is easier to teach, but it is also easier to learn, master and anchor into one's skill sets with limited time and ammunition. History has also shown that simple is the best way to fight when pandemonium is going on all around you as you fight to save your own life. I disagree with some of my fellow trainers in that it is impossible to "dumb down" training . . . simplicity is the key to a high level of performance when the bullets are in-bound.

During a two or three day course of instruction there will never be enough time or repetition to truly anchor the skill into one's skill sets, so regular, realistic, organized practice is essential. What am I referring to when I say "anchor"? I am talking about being able to call upon the NEEDED skill in a split second and use it without conscious thought to save your life or the life of a loved one or friend . . . what some trainers call unconscious competence. It is a tall order and can only be achieved through practice and let's face it, training school alone is NOT practice. By all means, seek out training opportunities but understand that once the training is over, you must leave with a solid understanding of what was taught, learned and take it back and practice it until it becomes second nature.

"Right now someone is training so when they meet you, they beat you! Train hard (Note: which includes MUCH practice) and stay on guard!"- Dennis Martin

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Glock 43

What the Glock 43 single-stack 9mm release means for cops

This pocket-sized 9mm weighs 16.19 ounces (empty), has a slide length of 6.06” and a barrel length of 3.39 inche

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.

- Plutrach

Article by Todd Green

Picture, Ken Hackathorn

                                                 
                                                  

All or Nothing: Unsighted Fire

by ToddG

Hackathorn’s Law: under stress you won’t try to do anything you’re not confident you can accomplish.

Lately I’ve seen quite a few discussion about sighted vs. unsighted fire both at pistol-forum.com and on Ballistic Radio‘s Face Book page. And like so many internet discussions it seems to devolve into an all or nothing binary only my way works debate.

Coincidentally, last week I was talking to Ken Hackathorn about sighted vs. unsighted fire. Ken, as anyone could tell you, is an absolute tyrant when it comes to accuracy. That’s me in the red at Hackathorn class in 2009. Ken stresses accuracy above all else in terms of technical shooting skills.

So why does Ken have everyone tape over their sights during a major part of his class when students have to hit multiple targets while shooting on the move? That’s a question worth exploring, and one that gets back to the problem of seeing (pardon the pun) sighted and unsighted fire as two extreme and mutually exclusive skills.

Unsighted fire doesn’t have to mean you’re shooting with your eyes closed. It doesn’t have to mean hip shooting. It simply means you’re not focused on the front sight. The gun can still be up in front of your face providing a reference — both visual and kinesthetic — of where the muzzle is pointed. Let’s face it, even if your eyes are closed, the gun is still pointed somewhere. As people learn quickly during Ken’s drill, you can still get pretty good torso shots while moving even if you aren’t using the little bumpy things atop your pistol.

So, that brings us to the 800# gorilla in the room: most people won’t focus on their sights under stress. It’s something we all know (often from personal experience simply doing stressful practice drills) but many “serious” shooters want to ignore. We’ve all been taught “front sight, trigger press” as a mantra and it’s essentially a sin to do otherwise.

Reality, however, is different. Many folks simply don’t want to accept it.

“So,” the unsighted fire advocates ask, “why bother practicing with your sights in the first place?”

There are two main reasons. They’re both pretty obvious once you think about it for a little while.

First, there’s the kinesthetic benefit. The more you practice putting the gun in the right spot in front of your face, the more natural it becomes. Your brain and nervous system literally start building connections that turn that practice into habit until it becomes preconscious. Even with your eyes locked onto the target, the gun appears right there in line with your eyeballs because that’s what you’ve practiced time and time again. You may still be focusing on the target but you’ve gone through the motions so many times that you’re still putting the gun where it needs to be and, ideally, you’re still aware of the gun’s position to some extent or another.

Second and most importantly, the only way you will ever reach the point where you can see the sights under stress is if you practice it. There was a long time between when I thought I was using my sights in force-on-force scenarios and when I actually saw my sights consistently. Since then, I’ve been very conscious of my sights in FOF training (and just as conscious the times I screwed up and didn’t use them). My performance in terms of being able to maneuver and get hits on a moving target improved dramatically, as did my ability to get good hits from awkward impromptu positions behind cover.

So there are three takeaways from this:

1. Unsighted fire happens, and more often than we often like to admit.
2. Practicing sighted fire helps improve your shooting ability even if you don’t focus on your sights under extreme stress.
3. Practicing sighted fire diligently can maximize your potential to see and use those sights under extreme stress.

As I’ve said many times in class, practicing sighted fire will improve your unsighted fire, but it doesn’t work the other way around.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Glock 43....Single Stack 9mm

Hi Folks, 

                  It has been awhile since I have penned a post so I figured, that since there is something out there that has gotten my attention, I would share my thoughts about it.  I also thought that before every swinging D...  jumped on it I would get ahead of all the chatter.  

As you can probably guess from the picture above it is in regard to Glock introducing it's first single stack compact 9mm pistol the model 43.  

I, like my of my colleague's in the firearms training world have been waiting for this to happen for a long time.  If you have taken any of my training classes or have shared time at the range with me, you know that I am what you would call a Glock Guy.   It wasn't always that way until back in the late nineties that I grew a liking an affection for this simple but extremely effective tool.  It is as they say "PERFECTION".   GOFF PROOF!

When I was fortunate to be involved with the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife, a Deputy Conservation Officer, the Glock Pistol was my primary duty gun for both uniform and non-uniformed purposes.  We utilized The Glock in both the 357 Sig, 125 gr. round and then in the 9mm, in the 115 gr. +P+ load.  After intensive testing we discovered that both of these rounds had the potential of defeating the level 3A vests that we wore.  Not a good thing!  So we then went to the Speer Gold Dot 124 gr. +P load.  Very effective load when you put it where it belongs.  Remember, no matter what gun or caliber you are carrying, "ONLY HITS COUNT".  You need to put them in that 8" circle on the high chest area.  

My friends an colleagues will confirm that when I have a gun on it is a Glock and most likely in the 9mm  flavor.  I own every 9mm that Glock makes an will generally have the model 19 in my holster.  I have said many times that I believe that model to be one of the best choices for concealed carry and general purpose use.  One of the best combat handguns out there. Why?  Here are a few of the reasons;

1. Reliable, it goes bang when you press the trigger.

2. Accurate,  will print tight groups if you know             how to shoot!

3. Powerful, the 9mm defensive loads are leaps and       bounds of what they were previously.

4. Fit, feels comfortable in most shooters hands.  If       not go down in size to the 26 or up in size to the 17.

    And now you have another option, the 43

5. Plenty of rounds, one in the pipe and 15 ready to       go in the mag.  If you can't handle the problem           with 16 rounds then the problem will most likely       handle you.

    A good rule of thumb is to always have a fully             loaded spare mag on you, preferably carried in a       good mag pouch.

OK, enough said about the 19.  Lets get back to what this post is about.  That being the new model 43, single stack 9mm.  It is designed to be lighter and more concealable then the 26 and the 19.  Taking that into consideration, you do give up the advantage of having more rounds available and that is why it is imperative that if you decide to carry the 43 that you definitely have that spare mag with you at all times.  

I have not had the opportunity to fire one yet, but I would assume that it will have all the inherited advantages of the Glock Pistol System.  

I have held off buying a 42 in the 380 ACP caliber.  I am not and have never been a big advocate of that particular caliber and a lot of the guns that were designed to fire it, with the exception of the Sig p230.  Now, I will be the first one to tell you that because of the advances that have recently taken place not only with the ammo, but also with the design of the guns that are out there today I have a little more respect for that caliber.  Again, that rule that applies is hitting something significant.  "ONLY HITS COUNT".  You need to put them in that 8" circle on the high chest area.  It is even more important when you downgrade your power factor in defensive handgun rounds.

I figured it would only be a matter of time before Glock introduced the single stack 9.  They have done it before with the 45 ACP, the model 36.  the Glock 43 will be a nice solution to carrying concealed in the warmer weather.  Confidence comes in knowing that you have a have a handful of bad news in a nice small package.  

COVER YOUR 6 / AND STAY SAFE!    

   

THE 3 P'S

PRACTICE, PREPARATION = PERFORMANCE!

STAY SHARP, PRACTICE AND PERFECT YOUR SKILLS.

BECOME UNCONSCIOUSLY COMPETENT!