Friday, October 25, 2013

Cool things from BladeTech


After the ZSA 2013 Ground Zero Championship I ended up with a bunch of cool BladeTech gear. Some was purchased and some was won, but the end result was really great gear for me to use. Ryan Preece from BladeTech was a great guy to meet and a really knowledgeable fellow. I'd be lying if I said I got anything other than a great deal on a bunch of gear.

Perhaps the single coolest piece of gear I came by was the most minimalist. It came off the prize table and appeared to be an inside the waistband (IWB) holster for a Glock 19/23. My G19 is heavily tricked out and has a magwell. "What am I to do with an IWB holster?," I pondered. This was not just another IWB holster and after about five minutes I knew exactly what I'd do with it; keep it and be grateful. Imagine an IWB that's as fast as conventional holster, stays open and doesn't allow the gun to jostle around. That is the BladeTech Klipt IWB holster.

I have used this method of carry for years and really think it works well. The downside for me has always been tensioning the belt just right to gain stability and retention, but still allowing the gun to be drawn smoothly and with speed. Well look no further as this holster is the ticket! I could not believe how cool this holster was. I must have spent an hour and a half the first night home practicing my draw with it. It is dangerously addictive. It breathed new life into carrying an old favorite indeed. I should mention that even with the crazy magazine well and extended basepads the Klipt holds the gun in close and makes it disappear under an untucked shirt while maintaining a fast draw speed. Now if they only offered it for every gun I wanted to carry, I'd have a pile of them.



The second notable BladeTech item was a gift to me by my good friend and shooting mentor, John Zaczek. This is a standard holster for the M&P 9/40 full size pistol. The slide on the standard models is a bit thicker than on the pro models. I had tried to purchase a holster at the match, but was unable to make it work in a pro series holster. This holster is stamped with the S&W M&P logo and fits the weapon perfectly. I am very pleased with the retention and fast presentations from this holster. It features a standard adjustable belt loop and also came with a paddle attachment. I opted to use the belt loop feature.  This holster proved equally addicting with how well it both retained and released the weapon at the draw stroke. Although slightly less novel than the Klipt, it's still an awesome piece of gear. I favor this standard holster much more than the Hogue speed rig as it gives me great peace of mind. Gift or not, I couldn't have been happier with the design and function.

The following items I purchased and am most grateful for the deal I received: a Springfield XD holster and an AR dual magazine pouch. The XD holster was for a friend that has one and they were most grateful to receive such an awesome upgrade to the stock holster that came with the gun. Although labeled for a 9/40 5.25" XD, it fit their .45 Compact very well and locked up properly. Perhaps this gift was all that was necessary to ease one more shooter into the game, which is what it's all about! 

The dual magazine pouch is definitely cool and makes my AR instantly more useful in competition or an emergency as now I have a way to carry magazines on the belt very quickly with the Tek-Lok fittings.

 I also own a magazine pouch for the AK and it is both attractive and useful. I like the smooth lines it has and how well it holds an otherwise bulky 40 round magazine with ease.

I would like to thank BladeTech  for supporting the shooting sports, ZSA, and sending a great guy like Ryan for us all to talk to.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to shoot in the 2013 ZSA Ground Zero NC State Championship Match. It was 307 rounds required to shoot it clean attempting all bonus shots. I don't think I fired more than two or three dozen makeup shots thanks to a challenging course of fire designed by my good friend John Zaczek Sr. There were sixteen stages with anywhere from three to 38 shots available. I use shots available due to the expansion of the stages due to bonus targets and their optional engagement. Engagement range was 10 to 60 yards on steel targets and 3 to 50 yards on  paper.

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Top: John explains the stage.
Bottom: Cliff and Kori strategize.

I shot this clean free style and weak hand only. It was about fifteen yards maximum range, maybe 18.
The directions were 12 shots limited with a mandatory reload before the last shot. Freestyle for the first string and the option to get bonus points for shooting strong hand only and massive bonus points for shooting weak hand only. The catch was that the penalties doubles and tripled as well. I decided that I would take the WHO route as I had fired extensively with my left hand in cowboy action. It paid off magnificently with a clean stage that erased two penalties from other stages.


By far the most amazing part of the weekend was the people. Some of the people have known me for years and when I walked up I felt like Norm strolling into Cheers.  The catch was it had been over two years since I had seen some of them. You can imagine how touched I was to be fondly remembered by a group of shooters. I truly believe that this is the warmest of the shooting communities with a deep fellowship and camaraderie. The only shooting sport I have seen approach this level is cowboy action. I saw unhesitating generosity all over with shooters helping other shooters plan the stages out, with ammunition shortages, even water and snacks. After the shooting was done on Saturday the band Madison Rising played a special concert for us after shooting the match. You really need to hear their rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. It will reaffirm your faith in our country's greatness.




Myself and the great shooter and Top Shot contestant Cliff Walsh. 

So the beginning of the match was a little bit of a rough start with unfamiliar borrowed gear shooting a relatively new platform. The M&P is still young in my hands and I had really only out about 500 rounds through it before the match. I had planned to shoot out of simple gear: a. Leather IWB holster and a simple Fobus magazine pouch. Some safety concerns about the IWB holster from fellow RO's led me to borrow some less than simple gear that in the end was highly efficient and worked out great. I think it was a smart choice and good advice overall. Thanks so much for the loan Mel! (Mel Zaczek is John's lovely wife and a truly awesome and generous shooter.)



By the second half of the match I was accustomed to the gear and its advantages and limitations. The advantages I found were a quick draw and very easy access to the pistol and magazines for speedy reloads. The disadvantages I found were due to my style of shooting which relies upon my foot speed to make up for slower more deliberate shooting. I dropped a magazine on a stage that I ended up not needing, but it unnerved me. Other issues arose with the holster. I didn't feel comfortable running flat out with the gun in it and I found it easy to inadvertently lock the gun down during the draw stroke.



There was a stage which required entering a school bus and engaging some 14 target from the inside. The catch was the start position was right on the 180/DQ line and you ran up the steps and turned to the left and down range. Another complication was that there were bars to be navigated at the top of the stairs presenting additional "muzzle foulers." So before the beep my plan was to get to the top of the stairs and draw after turning toward the first target. After the beep the plan modified into a step and a half into the bus, grabbing the rail with my left hand, and drawing the gun as legs and arm propelled my into the bus. I just didn't feel comfortable leaving the gun in the unlocked holster going up the stairs.

On another stage I locked the gun down as I grabbed for it my super long fingers and flipped the lever up. It cost me a half second or so on the draw as I thumbed the lock down and redrew the gun.  This wasn't a super stage killer , but it was a belt flexing annoyance.  I can definitely attest to the security of the locking function. I think that despite all my experience with the Hogue holster, I will stick to a more conventional design with my auto loaders.


By the end of the match I had found a familiarity with the M&P and really finished strong.
The game face.