While the blog has certainly… evolved from its original intent, I still personally enjoy collecting and shooting Israeli-manufactured firearms. One that I bought long ago, but never quite got around to reviewing, was the Tanfoglio Mossad Compact. Well, the long-promised review has arrived…
Continue reading Tanfoglio Mossad Compact ReviewTag Archives: handgun
Green Ops Advanced Competition Pistol Class AAR
It’s been about six months since I’ve taken a class. This was not entirely intentional (a TOC class got cancelled in the interim), but is in line with my goal of being more selective with how I use my time vis a vis classes vs competition.
When I saw the post from Green Ops on Facebook that they would be hosting an advanced competition class, I jumped on it. I literally signed up minutes after seeing the post. I know I have deficiencies with movement and stage planning, and a class that could help me fix those things would be absolutely worth it.
Continue reading Green Ops Advanced Competition Pistol Class AARIWI teases the Jericho Enhanced
You have seen this before, back in 2017. It looks like a nice update to the platform, so I’m glad they’re bringing it over. Hopefully IWI will be releasing a version with a factory optics cut.
Green Ops Defensive Pistol I Clinic AAR (G34 Edition)
This is an after-action review of the Green Ops Defensive Pistol I Clinic that was held on December 9 (6:00 PM – 10:30 PM) at the NRA HQ range. I think some people are going to find that odd. “But, Jew-with-a-Gun, you just took that back in October! What’s the point?”
The point is, remarkably, quite simple: if advanced shooting is just advanced application of the fundamentals, then pretty much anything you do to further master those fundamentals is going to have positive downstream effects when you’re shooting at a higher-level. The trick is having instructors who can keep pushing you on those fundamentals beyond a basic level, and the Green Ops guys are top-notch for that.
Continue reading Green Ops Defensive Pistol I Clinic AAR (G34 Edition)
Racking that Jericho slide
I was looking at a review of the new IWI-US imported Jericho over on LooseRounds, and noticed that the author had a very interesting comment about it:
… the action and slide of the Jericho sit tight inside the frame and as a side effect, reveal little of the slide itself for weapon manipulation. Unlike say, my square Glock which gives me lots of real estate for racking and manipulation, the Jericho gives much less purchase. Consider this a negative if forced to manipulate the weapon when wet or in slippery conditions.
Fair criticism, of course. IMI apparently took this to heart when they designed the Barak, which has the large, easy-to-grab, and ugly rear sight “hump”.
But… this is also specifically a problem with the newest generation of Jerichos. The sights on the new imports are of the “snag-free” variety. However, if you look at the older IMI guns, they’ve got a much different design – very vertical, thick, and “snaggy”. The advantage is that the old style sights make the slide much easier to manipulate. You simply grab the top of the slide and push back against the rear sight.
Want to be a real operator and do a one-handed-against-the-table slide manipulation? The old-style sights were awesome for that. In fact, the old-style sights were pretty great in general, so I’m not sure why they changed them. Snag-free isn’t everything.
LaserAmmo SureStrike 9mm Cartridge
I have never been a particularly good shot. By that, I mean that I know my flaws. I know that I tend to get pumped up and lose fundamentals. I enjoy shooting; it gives me an adrenaline rush. But, in the end, fundamentals are everything when it comes to accuracy.
My research online indicates that the top pistol-shooting competitors out there supplement their range time with dry-fire practice. Sensible enough, but I like immediate feedback. Practicing badly doesn’t get me any better! Laser training cartridges have become more popular for this purpose. After reading some mixed reviews of the longevity of the LaserLyte 9mm training cartridge, I opted for the well-reviewed – and Israeli-made – Laser Ammo SureStrike 9mm Cartridge.
BUL Cherokee Gen1
I’ve previously reviewed the BUL Cherokee Compact “2nd gen” handgun. Spoiler alert: I liked it a lot.
But before the 2nd gen gun, there was the original “Gen1” BUL Cherokee. The 2nd gen gun has very distinctive looks – an elongated dust cover, finger swells and a rail. The first gen gun, however, looks very much like a Tanfoglio Force 99 copy.
But that’s OK, because I’ve never owned a Tanfoglio Force 99 before, so it’s all new to me. I recently bought a Cherokee Gen1; read on for my thoughts.
Sometimes, mag catches break
Rating high in the “realm of things I’ve never seen before”, my police surplus BUL Storm Compact came to my FFL with a broken mag catch. Ordinarily, I would not consider this to be a big deal, but since I needed to submit it to the Maryland Handgun Roster Board for approval in a working state, this was less than ideal, as the gun was punted back from the board for fixes… meaning another 4-5 month round trip for approval The magazine would fall out if any real pressure was put on it from the top… such as stripping a round from the magazine.
I wound up using a new EAA Witness mag catch from the Ben Stoeger Pro Shop. He shipped it the same day I ordered, and it came very quickly. This was the newer-style (post-2004) magazine catch, so it’s also a bit of an upgrade. Installing it wasn’t hard, but did require three hands.
CAA MIC-RONI
Besides their foray into the AK market, CAA’s SHOT 2016 booth also revealed a new Glock chassis called the “MIC-RONI”. I think you are supposed to pronounce this “Microni”, like “Macaroni”, but they also call it the “Micro RONI” on their site, so… your guess is as good as mine.
While I am something of a skeptic of the first RONI, I really like what I’m seeing with the MIC-RONI. It folds up to 13.7″, and only weighs about 3.1lbs with a Glock 17 in it. That makes it lighter AND smaller than the FAB Defense KPOS G2 (albeit the Microni is made of polymer vs the KPOS’s aluminum). Some other advantages I’m noticing:
- The trigger-blocking safety looks much more manageable – doesn’t look like there’s a button to deploy it.
- it has storage for an extra mag in the fixed VFG.
- The stock is high enough to support AR optics properly.
- Integrated flashlight holder (albeit I don’t know what it’s compatible with, or how you control it).
Downside is that it doesn’t look like you’ve got enough clearance to run a suppressor. That’s not a deal-breaker for me, but could be for other people.
3D Printing a Magazine Sleeve
As you’ll recall from my review of the BUL Impact, I loved the pistol, but bemoaned the lack of a way to get a nice flush fit with the full length BUL M5 9mm magazines. There was a product image showing a sleeve adapter, but I had never seen one in the wild.
Well, if you can’t buy it… you build it. Or in my case, you 3D print it.
The Hebrew Hammer 