Category Archives: Carry Gun

Concealed Carry Fashion Show – Sept 19th 2015

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2015-0919 Sadie walks the concealed carry purseThe Gun Powder Gals in Fayetteville, NC put out a call for volunteers to participate in a Concealed Carry Fashion Show hosted last weekend. I wanted to know more about carry options for women so I volunteered. I bought a holster (discounted for the models) and then walked in the show.

I got a first hand report on all the holsters as I had time to talk to the models backstage about how they liked each of the options they would be showing. I have one or two new items added to my future shopping list as a result.

There were news crews onsite and two versions were aired. I managed to get a copy of each though the shorter version is not the greatest quality. I’m the one trying not to smile in the pink shirt.

The event included vendors, speakers and the fashion show. Food was available at the venue. A knife fighting demo was also included. Several guns were raffled off with the proceeds (over $2000) donated to the Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County.

I intend to write more but for now here’s the video. Enjoy!

Carry in the Console of the Car

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The XDS in the center console of a my car

The XDS in the center console of a my car

When I buy something, I like to use it. I’m up to four 9mm pistols at this point and I’m going through a process of deciding where each “fits” in my life — or whether to sell one of them.

  • I’ve parked the H&K in my bedroom. It’s the only gun I have with night sights.
  • When I bought the 1911 it replaced the XD9 as my competition gun (for now). I tried putting the XD9 in the car, but I wanted it in the center console. It’s too big. I can’t really reach the glove box quickly but I can pop the center console and access items next to me fast. So the XD9 went back in my range bag as a back up competition gun.

I have  a CCW but I haven’t gotten comfortable carrying a loaded gun on my body outside of the range or competitions. So I decided my next baby step would be to carry in the car.

If you’ve been reading you know I bought the XDS in 9mm. It’s a perfect fit for the glove box. I took the holster that came with the gun and attached it to a heavy CD case (metallic blue with a zipper in the photo) using a rubber band in order to test out the concept. The holster keeps the gun upright and centered. The CD case keeps the holster in place when I draw the gun. I practice drawing at least once a day now and I’m happy with this system. I just want to find something more reliable than a rubber band to make it work.

The next time I’m at The Range and it’s fairly empty and dry, I will try driving my car out into a bay and practice a S L O W draw with a transition to shoot through the driver’s window and or passenger window.

At this point I have questions. So if you are reading and you are willing to share:

  • Do you carry in your car? Why or why not? 
  • Where do you carry?
  • Do you leave the gun in the car full time or remove it once you are home?

I have many conversations with shooters but never with a consistent mentor and this is the kind of thing I will figure out on my own, but would really like pointers.

 

Buying the Springfield XDS (in 9mm)

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Brand new Springfield XDS in 9mm -- still in the "box"

Brand new Springfield XDS in 9mm — still in the “box”

The evolution of buying a gun:

  • I saw this post Tuesday morning,
  • exchanged a few emails with Luke in which he said “a little bird told him they would have another XDS in 9mm on Thursday,
  • called Carolina Gunrunners Tuesday afternoon and asked about availability,
  • drove over after work and paid for the gun with a credit card (note that they do not take credit cards over the phone for liability reasons but they charge the same price for cash or credit)
  • got a call Thursday morning to let me know the gun was in and would be ready for pick up at my convenience, and
  • drove back to Carolina Gunrunners last night after work, filled out the paperwork and brought home my purchase.

Luke at Triangle Tactical has also written a review of his first experience shooting the gun. Read that here.

I’m excited about this purchase and will have much more to say about it. I have plans to shoot it tomorrow. But for now this odd tidbit: it’s the smallest gun I’ve purchased to date and it came in the biggest box. I like that it’s rugged but it’s going to take up lots of space to store it.

In the photo above, you’ll see the gun comes with: a paddle holster, a smaller backstrap, a double mag pouch, a gun lock, the XDS, two 7 round magazines, and replacement red dot and green dot site rods.

The red dot/green dot rods are completely new to me so I asked about them. The fellow at Carolina Gunrunners told me that if the existing red dot site broke, I could slide a replacement rod into the site, cut it then take a cigarette lighter and melt the ends. This gun will clearly jump start me into learning new things.

If you want to purchase the XDS in 9mm, Carolina Gunrunners in north Raleigh will have more being shipped to the store. I found them very easy to work with and would not hesitate to do business with them again in the future.

I also got a call from Rachel at 9Forward on Wednesday. She remembered that I had asked about the XDS when I was in the store for their opening and she called to let me know they had started receiving shipments. So if you are closer to Oxford and Raleigh is a long drive for you, this is another place locally that you can buy this gun now.

 

 

Leverage your friends, they have cool guns too!

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Sunday I agreed to go shooting with a friend I haven’t seen since I before I started shooting. He saw me on the news in an interview done by the local station and he reached out. I never feel I spend enough time at the range and I didn’t want to give up my structured practices to hang out with someone I wasn’t even sure was safe with guns… so I procrastinated.

Bad girl! Other than dealing with the chaos that is becoming normal on the weekend at a gun range, I had a good time. He has a nice collection of Springfield Armory guns. I let him shoot my 1911. Until I had to admit that my XD9 was really too wide for my hand, I loved that gun. It’s simple to use, reliable, and simple to clean. I shot a .40 and .45 caliber pistol for the first time. Very manageable.

I bought a 1911 with a 5″ barrel to replace the XD9 as my competition gun but haven’t yet bought a carry gun because there are just too many decisions to make and I don’t want to buy a gun I don’t end up liking and that I have not shot.

I walked away from shooting with my friend with a slam dunk of a choice. He has a Springfield XD-S in .45 calibre. It’s small, it’s thin, and it’s an XD! It’s a bruiser to shoot but I felt that with practice I could manage it nicely. It never jammed for him. It did jam for me, but I think I must have been limp-wristing the gun.

I made a decision early on that I wasn’t going to buy any more guns unless they were in 9mm. I don’t want to have to stock up on multiple calibers. My life, my decision.

Word from the SHOT show is that Springfield will be producing this gun in 9mm in the spring. I want this one. Easy, easy decision. To make it even easier, holsters should already be available as the .45 holsters should also fit the 9mm model. Win!

Now, I need to figure out how to get on a list somewhere to order this as I get the impression it will be popular.

For my reference, here is a review:
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2013/01/15/springfield-xds-9mm/