Guns...The domain of military, law enforcement and security personnel, of sporting and professional shooters, primary producers, militants, criminals and of course crazy people when they can get their hands on them. These completely harmless lumps of metal, wood and polymer have saved many lives, taken others and have been a major point of contention. Many do not understand guns, most I would say, however almost everyone has an opinion which [unfortunately] typically negatively-labels the people who have them lawfully. Rarely is that label positive, or indeed warranted. I can claim a few of the titles above and yes, I have guns...And therefore an opinion. My opinion is not the point of this post though; Guns are.
I'm not crazy, although my wife calls me "crazy-sexy". I'm not insane, yet my wife calls me "insanely-handsome". I'm not maniacal and yet she also calls me "manically funny". So, I'm crazy, insane and maniacal and have guns? Well, no, not at all. I'm just a dude who has a lawful hobby which involves guns. Nothing more, nothing less. And yet I'm labelled by others as many, mostly negative, things because I have guns. I'm often asked why I have them too. Well, why does someone inject Botox into their face, or over-eat despite being obese, or posts near-naked images of themselves on Facebook, or cheats on a partner, or is deceitful or...Well, you get the idea. The answer is because they want to. Why do I have guns? Because I want to. Quite simple really.
I shoot a lot; A couple times a week at least and to the tune of somewhere around 100-400 rounds a week depending on what I happen to be shooting. I'm good at it too. I'm also a good ambassador for the discipline's I shoot and firearm-ownership in general being a safe and lawful shooter in all aspects. No other way really.
In a few weeks I'll be taking a couple of girls from my office shooting which neither of them have done before. They will be shooting both of the handguns you see pictured here. I'm doing this for a couple of reasons, first and foremost because they asked and secondly because it's a great opportunity to introduce more people to firearms and how fun (and safe) they can be in the right hands. By the end of the few-hour-session they will know how to identify the various parts, make the guns safe and know which direction to point it (down range). They will be able to load magazines with bullets, load the gun, aim and shoot with some degree of accuracy. They will be able to unload and make-safe the firearms and lastly they will understand how to identify an unsafe gun and proceed to make it safe, at least as far as semi-automatic handguns are concerned anyway. They are both really looking forward to it, as am I.
Today I also wanted to show you a couple of differences between two of my guns.
Both are CZ (Česká zbrojovka - Don't ask me to pronounce that) models made in the Czech Republic and both are 9mm semi-auto with (the legal in Australia) 10 round magazine capacity however I always load one in the chamber so 11 total. (P09 has a 19+1 bullet capacity and the Shadow 2 is 17+1 from factory). The black one is a P09 and the black and blue is a newer Shadow 2. They both operate the same way with the magazine being inserted in the mag-well (bottom of grip). You can see them here with the slides locked open. When the gun is operating the trigger activates the hammer which drops the firing pin on the primer (in the bullet) which fires it. The slide is opened by the gases which ejects the spent case, resets the trigger and on closing chambers the next round from the magazine ready to shoot again. They will fire as quickly as one can pull the trigger. Quite simple in format.
I shoot both of these guns in IPSC (International Practical Shooting Confederation) competition, the P09 in Production Division and the Shadow 2 in Standard. The divisions have different requirements hence different guns with the main one being that in Production the trigger must be double action and the shooter's first shot must be double action.
Essentially this means that the gun must be loaded, a round chambered, with the hammer DOWN then holstered. This means, on commencement, when the shooter pulls the trigger the hammer will first pull back all the way then drop to fire. With a single action trigger the shooter starts with the gun loaded (chambered) but when he "racks" the gun (works the slide to load it) the trigger pulls back and remains there. The gun's SAFETY is engaged then the gun is holstered ready to commence. On pulling the trigger the hammer simply drops to fire. It is more difficult to make the first shot as accurate with double action than with single. (Hopefully I made that clear?)
You can see the more utilitarian P09 trigger on the left and the "better" Shadow 2 on the right.
Below you can see no safety on the P09 to the left and the safety lever on the Shadow 2 on the right. The P09 has a de-cocking lever which drops the hammer part of the way however the first shot is still always double action and then from there it's single.
Another difference is the sights on both guns. The P09 is a field gun designed for duty-use: Military, law enforcement and security work mainly. It is primarily polymer in construction (sort of plastic) except for the slide, barrel, hammer and some other little bits inside. It is designed to work after being dropped in the mud, water, dust and sand and is also designed for very close range (as with all pistols generally). The sights hammer that point home. You will note on the left image the white tritium dot on the front sight (brightly glow in the dark) designed to allow the operator to shoot in low-light situations and in close confines. The Shadow 2 on the right has a red fibre optic sight which picks up ambient light and will not glow in the dark. The sights on the P09 are also thicker (the front one) which makes it harder to shoot longer distances as the muzzle needs to be angled up higher and the sights obscure the target.
The rear sights are similar although the P09 has tritium dots and is less adjustable than the Shadow 2. There is some windage adjustment to both but the Shadow two allows for elevation also.
Interestingly the "civilian" Shadow 2 has better grips than the duty-use P09 and are therefore more grippy. This is important as the operator needs to get a secure grip on the gun when firing which helps control recoil and allows for faster and more accurate follow-up shots. (Considering I may fire some 30-40 rounds in a single 40-50 second stage this is a critical difference.) The P09 is much more utilitarian probably due to the fact in a military arena it is generally a secondary weapon, not primary and if you're reaching for your pistol then you just want to send [a lot of] lead down range and into someone quickly. I'm not sure. Cost would be a factor also I guess considering there's around $1100 difference in the price of these two guns. (Australian currency) (P09 is about $850-$900 and the Shadow 2 about $2000).
Both of these handguns have their purpose and whilst one is more accurate and efficient on the field of competition the other is more suitable to the field of battle and situations where lives depend on equipment working first time and every time. I can field-strip and clean the P09 in the dark, reassemble and know it will work. Whilst I could probably do so with the Shadow 2 it would be more susceptible to fouling and foreign contaminants due to it's tighter manufacturing tolerances. There is a significant weight difference in them also which in certain circumstances makes a great difference also. I like the additional weight in competition as it permits greater accuracy and faster follow-up shots). The P09 is 31 ounces and the Shadow 2 is 46.5 ounces. Both are great guns and I enjoy shooting them however moving forward I feel I will shoot more with the Shadow 2 and keep the P09 for training purposes.
So there you go, a post about guns. Sure, I know many people hate them, and quite probably the individuals who have them as well, however they can be an enjoyable and engaging hobby and to be honest most of us live in a free world because of them. Gun owners aren't all crazed killers; They are the people next door to you, or in your street. Your doctor, lawyer, banker, child-care worker, your gynaecologist, the kids your kids go to school with...They are everywhere and are, in the main, as safe as anyone else. Criminals with guns on the other hand are out of control, as are terrorist-assholes with guns, and bombs and trucks and cars, poison and anything else they can think of to kill people with.
We live in a free world where people make choices. People choose to take ICE and other drugs, choose to drink-drive or to commit violent crimes against their peers, choose to judge and label others... And choose to have guns. My choice to be a legal and lawful gun owner is a better one for those who don't have guns than the choice the violent criminal makes to obtain a gun illegally. Don't you think? Banning guns will stop me from having them. It won't stop the criminals from obtaining them though. My opinion only and as a gun owner, and a formerly non-gun-owner a balanced one I think.
I live in Switzerland, all people have guns here, they have to (if you are swiss)
I do not have any guns, never shot one either. I would like to try sometime but its no urgency.
But I like the fact that you say you just like guns. As jim jeffries says, tis the only reason to have them
Thanks for taking the time to read and reply. I had heard the Swiss are required to have firearms. I guess it's possiblely due to their location and the previous issues in EU over the first and second world wars.
There are many reasons to have guns; I never get into it with people though preferring to say simply that I want them so have them. Easier that way. I find arguments for/against guns tedious and pointless to engage in. I have guns and dont care if the people that dont want them dont have (or like) them.
What a fantastic article and so well written. Really interesting and informative, I couldn't stop reading. As for your balanced opinion, yes its balanced and debate is healthy. No, you're not crazy. Yes, you are a safe and responsible gun owner.
I'll leave the 'but', because it really was a great post I enjoyed reading lol ;-)
Hey man, thanks a lot. I'm a pretty passionate dude, not just about guns but everything I do, so it's easy for me to write I guess. Glad you liked it.
Extremely well-written and informative post I absolutely agree that you are an excellent ambassador for shooting sports and gun ownership. Let us know how your co-workers do and their reactions to the training.
Thanks man, coming from you that means something. I try to present the best I can as often as possible, guns included. I understand many people have issues with it and the pro/anti gun debate is passionate on both sides. I just do what I do. Little old me just living my life. :)
What I've really liked with your shooting posts is you explain how the gun works and how the shooting comps work so that even people like me can understand it (more or less) even in a headachey state. The grip on that Shadow is very pretty.
One of the reasons I got it! :)
Thanks for your comment. As the non-gun person you are it means a lot to me that you understand what I'm getting at, and don't just turn off immediately. I try to present in a balanced way. I understand that people hate guns sometimes, and that other's love them. For me it's no different to dirt bike riding, lawn bowls or any other hobby.
Thanks for your reply. :)
I used to be one of those people who hated guns. Then I realised I just hated people.
I don't actually hate people but that sounds much snappier than saying I'm generally indifferent to people and just like some people XD
Guns turned out to be a lot more interesting than I thought they were when I tried to put together a 3d model for an animation (which I never got around to finishing) where one of my characters strips down, cleans and reassembles one of his guns and was surprised at the unexpected number of parts that went into those things. New appreciation was developed!
That's pretty cool...Your turnaround on the gun thing. I mean through your work you came to appreciate something you never did previously. Oh, also I think we're on the same page with the people thing. I'm not a fan of most of them either.
You got a 35.99% upvote from @ocdb courtesy of @galenkp!
Fantastic piece mate and the bottomline is gospel. Playstation to the right crowd is loads of fun, surfing and skateboarding to the right crowd is loads of fun and so competitive shooting to the right crowd is loads of fun. This has been my argument for many years here in South Africa where owning a gun is now your only way to survive, I would be more inclined to not own a firearm if there was a 100% guarantee that all criminals could be disarmed, but no one can give those odds and the thinking drives me nuts. How can anyone expect someone to be willing to sit around waiting to be murdered by criminals who are becoming more and more violent as time goes because they are granted more rights than taxpayers? Madness that must be resisted. Beautiful weapons, I worked with the CZ 75 for many years and grade CZ as one of the top 5 best weapons along with my trusty Glock 23 compact .40.
My most recent purchase was a Glock 43 and I love it. Single stack 9mm I can carry everywhere with me.
By the way I am brand new to Steemit. Came over from facebook after the censorship battles. Preparedness and politics are my thing!!!
Glock has a huge following. Nice handgun in my opinion. Unfortunately we are not able to carry here in Australia but if I could I would.