S&W M&P Shield 2.0

I'm seeing lots of folks (online and in the real world) talking about the new version of the S&W M&P Shield. Lasers, flashlights, suppressors - oh my!

CCA = TCA

For local guys... it looks like they moved forward with the name change to go with the ownership change from a while back.

Coal Creek Armory is now Tactical Advantage Corp.

On a side note, I went to the range and shot my M&P9 (along my other pistols) a couple of weeks back. So it only took me about 10 months to get to the range after purchasing it. I shot it okay, but I was still better with my CZ 75 SP-01.

TAC Facebook page.

M&P Magazines

I am going to be the best read guy around... I got some extra magazines for the S&W M&P9.

S&W M&P9: Fashionably Late

I'm so cool that I waited until everyone else bought an M&P9 before I did. And by everyone, I mean everyone:

http://www.balloongoesup.com/
http://snarkybytes.com/
http://ambulancedriverfiles.com/
http://blog.robballen.com/
http://smallestminority.blogspot.com/
http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/
http://www.ma-rooned.com/
http://www.saysuncle.com/

And since you've probably never seen one, here is a picture.

Now I need to run out and get a nylon holster. I think it will look good hanging off my skinny weaved belt. When I started this blog I had been thinking about a Glock, but I changed my mind after some discussions/research and had been leaning toward the S&W for sometime. Since I bought it partially because of recent events, I guess I need to be lumped in with the all the other reactionary buyers. I had already gotten two lowers after the election and I ordered some PMAGs last weekend.

Hopefully, my magazine order was processed before the supply chain got slammed. I also noticed that my e-mails from Brownells and Palmetto State are suggesting that I buy things like gift cards and phone cases - perhaps they are all out of gun stuff. The local Academy store said they sold out of ARs on Tuesday night. Mad Ogre says that Basin Sports is out of ARs as well. Others are posting before and after pics of empty shelves at gun stores. However, Coal Creek Armory posted yesterday that they had some ARs and expected lots of Magpul stuff today. Apologies because I don't remember who posted it, but they said that there were almost 10,000 background checks completed last week-end.

Truth be told, I didn't just buy this because of current events or even because of the inevitable zombie apocalypse. I bought it because of my worst fear: ninjas. If it can happen to Unc, it can happen to anyone.


Brownells PMAG link via Sebastian

Beaver Tail for Glock

I was leaning toward a M&P 9, but this new back strap for the Glock looks interesting.

Crimson Trace Light Guard

I keep thinking about getting a Glock 19 or a S&W M&P 9mm and the Crimson Trace Light Guard would be a nice addition.

Check out the picture from pdb Reviews The Crimson Trace Light Guard: Part 1 that compares the Light Guard and TLR-1. I really like the wide beam on the Light Guard.

Bullets & BBQ Knoxville Blogger Event

On Saturday, I enjoyed meeting several of the Knoxville area bloggers at Coal Creek Armory for friendly fire and some eats afterwards. It was really nice for me because I've just started this hobby (both the blogging and the guns), whereas some of these folks have been doing it for years. It was an interesting experience in that I had never met them in person before, but I felt like I already knew them through their blogs.

Attendees and their reports (in bold):
Les Jones - Notes from the Blogger Gun Bash
Linoge (plus Better Half joined for lunch) - After Action Report
Lissa
Liston Matthews (dropped by at lunch)
Rich
Michael J. Mollenhour (also joined at lunch)

The gathering also let me try out a few different guns and let others shoot mine. As you see in the post above Les liked my Kel-Tec. He didn't mention it in the post, but he was not a fan of the trigger on the CZ 75 SP-01. We also thought we had a problem with my P22, but it actually was working as intended - you can pull the trigger and the hammer will fall while the safety is on, but there is a block that keeps it from actually firing.

I shot a couple of wheel guns, which was a new experience for me. Les and Linoge told me the models I'm sure, but I didn't catch them in the heat of battle. I also shot Rich's Bersa 380. We had a couple of problems with that one. I had a failure to feed while I was trying it out. A neigbor of mine also happened to be in the lane next to us, so I got to try out the S&W Bodyguard 380. I wanted to fall in love with it, but I didn't. He said it was hard for him to shoot accurately and I was way low and left with it - even with the laser (which probably needed to be adjusted since it had come back from S&W). He had another buddy shooting high right. I'd like to blame the gun, but that's some odd data.

The highlights for me were Linoge's PPS and Les' Browning Buckmark. I shot my Kel-Tec PF-9 pretty well that day, but I'm still looking for an alternative. I really liked the PPS - it is a good size and the manual of arms is very similar to the P22 that I like. This meet-up may end up costing me some money if I decide I need one of those. And thanks to the Buckmark, I now know what a really good trigger is like. Les had some work done to the .22 and it has really paid off. That thing was smooth as silk. The fiber optic sights were a nice upgrade as well.

Thanks to everyone that showed up and shared guns, ammos, and stories.

Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380

Phil reviews and praises the 380 at the Guns for Sale Blog.

And another favorable review at the Survivalist Blog.

My neighbor has one and he says the double-action is hard for him to shoot. I've not shot it yet, so my comments are superficial at the moment. First, it is a tiny gun. The ergonomics weren't bad when I was playing around with the safety, mag release, etc. Both reviews mentioned that the laser was not worth much in bright light. I noticed the sights were plain, black. I'd rather see them with some nice dots - perhaps something that glows in the dark as a backup to the laser, too. Definitely on my list of things I'd like to try as I look to upgrade my Kel-Tec PF-9.