TheWombat

Different situation but something to also consider. I bought 500 x .45 ACP Speer Gold Dot from Target Sports USA back in November. I've shot probably 40 rounds at the range and went to grab another of the 20 rnd boxes yesterday to take to RTSP for the HK45. It was actually a box of .45 GAP !!!! I checked the remaining boxes and it looks like only 1 box is .45 GAP instead of .45 ACP, no idea what would have happened if I had not noticed it. TheWombat

Didn't take me long, within a couple of days I was fine. I know some people hate it, however I have to say I prefer the European style hence buying the HK45. :-) TheWombat

The HK45 comes with the small backstrap fitted as standard and with a medium backstrap in the box. A large backstrap can be bought separately. MrsWombat finds the grip fine with the small backstrap and she has small hands. I'm still deciding which I prefer. Technical issues with the camera :-) TheWombat

My go to firearm remains the PPQ.... Have you noticed the PPQ thread has now passed 7100 views! http://njgunforums.c...06-walther-ppq/ On the Viridian, I prefer the X5L gen 2 over the C5L, however for the PPQ I wanted a smaller light/laser. The green dot instead of the normal red dot is nice and the 6 different programmable modes adds some flexibility. Is it really necessary though? Who knows! TheWombat

enough said! Now for the rest of you, go out and buy a PPQ :-) TheWombat

From the few news stories I have seen it looks like the pro-gun are being relatively quiet in response. I've heard the MSNBC video and it talks about Zimmerman as a poster-child for the pro-gun lobby. Yet if he has a criminal past which the MSNBC video mentions then I wouldn't see him as a poster child. Irrespective, considering his actions in pursuing the person, then I would have thought the NRA and others would be more visible/vocal in ensuring this incident doesn't undermine the 2A progress to date. The only take away I have from this event so far, until we know more about what really happened, is that owning and carrying a firearm is a significant responsibility. TheWombat

I have a Sig P226 DA/SA however with the HK45 I have heard so many positive things on the light LEM conversion I thought I'd give it a try. Purely from dry firing I prefer HK light LEM to the HK DA/SA however it would only take about 60 minutes to convert it back if I find I don't like LEM after this weekend's range visit. TheWombat

@JohnP - hmm, the issues I've had with not being able to see the names is also from around the time I became a Premium Member. You may be onto something. @Maksim - anything you can do to investigate? TheWombat

I'd go for a Walther PPQ over the HK P30 :-) Half the price and a great trigger without any modifications. Rifles won't be for a few more months however If all goes well I should start trying some IDPA/Steel in April with the P226 and PPQ. :-) TheWombat

I'll bring the HK45 in addition to my usual PPQ on Sunday in case you can make it to low light and you want to give it a quick try. Well spotted on the light/lasers. The HK45 has the Viridian X5L Gen 2 The PPQ has the Viridian C5L I thought you wanted to stick to .45 rather than .40 due to your stock of .45 ammo? (otherwise I thought you'd have gone for a PPQ ) :-) TheWombat

Light LEM means you keep the existing Hammer Spring for an existing variant 1 DA/SA. So I am assuming that if you have a standard LEM and want to go to light LEM you just replace the Hammer Spring (item 27 on the attached instructions below) I used the following videos and PDF instructions for the conversion from DA/SA to Light LEM and it was fairly straight forward. There were a couple of slightly tricky bits but considering I am a novice it can't be too difficult. http://www.hkpro.com...ion-videos.html I'd suggest searching the HKPro website to be sure though for LEM to Light LEM hth TheWombat

10+1 which is a little odd as the HK USP 45 holds 12+1. TheWombat

And I obviously cannot have a thread without some PPQ pictures, so here are some comparison shots of the HK45 and the PPQ The HK45 is noticeably larger and heavier than the PPQ, however it also has a replaceable backstrap and hence seems to fit even the smaller hands of MrsWombat. hth TheWombat

The PPQ gained a step brother today and we have a new family member now, a trusty HK45. This was bought as variant 1 DA/SA however with about 60 minutes of patience and some replacement items including hammer, sear and a few other components it was converted into Light LEM. I was looking for a .45 caliber semi-auto that had a similar magazine release as the PPQ, and hence the HK45 fits the requirements. The LEM conversion results in the removal of the safety and makes the DA/SA into DAO. Originally as DA/SA After the LEM conversion - note: the missing External Safety and the different hammer I've only dry fired, so I can't post a range report yet, however the Light LEM works well dry firing so I think I will like this. TheWombat

I had a few more "pain penalties" this time over, although most of the more significant ones were received when I was a 'bad guy' on one of the scenarios! I'll be on the Low Light 2 this Sunday, so hopefully see you both. Will you be bringing the 1911 or something else? TheWombat

Last Sunday I attended a Gun For Hire Simunition Survival Day, the course description is: "Push yourself to your limits with Gun For Hire's Simunition survival day. The Simunition survival day is 8 hours of non-stop force-on-force training using the Simunition FX marking cartridge. The students will be put into several scenarios that will push themselves to their limits. The scenarios will range from active shooter scenarios to street robberies to car jackings. As a bonus each student can think of one real world scenario they would like to put themselves in and push themselves to the ultimate breaking point. This class is not for the novice or beginner. All students must be graduates of the Gun For Hire Level 1 Simunition course to attend this class. This class will be conducted at a 42,000 square foot heated office building making the scenario possibilities endless. " The course description is a good reflection of the day and for those who have already taken the FonF Active Shooter then think of this as "Active Shooter on steroids". There were 9 students, 4 instructors. The day started with a brief recap of safety and techniques before moving into the scenarios. In all I believe we played out around 8-10 different individual scenarios including an office active shooter, bank robbery, grocery store hold up, leaving a cinema, domestic dispute and car jackings to name some. For each scenario run-through the students would play one of 3 roles.. an innocent unarmed civilian, the armed civilian, or one or more of the agitators with the scenarios being played out one time for each student as the armed civilian, so there is no real sitting around waiting for your turn and in total well over 60+ run-throughs were covered during the day. The scenarios and structure work well, giving the opportunity to see how others tackle similar situations (albeit Jo/Chuck/Mac made changes within each scenario so every student had different situations to deal with). We had some amusing moments with the highlight being a Miami Vice style roll across the floor to reach cover. It also helps show the positive/negative implications of how you carry with a student racking the slide of an already loaded Simunitions firearm as they drew from their holster as the student typically carried with the chamber empty. Overall an excellent day, it continues to reinforce the challenges facing a legally armed civilian, questions such as: How can you spot a potentially escalating situation How can you keep aware of what is happening around you in an escalating situation How can you defuse a potential escalating situation without using your firearm When do you decide to draw your firearm When do you decide to shoot Who do you decide to shoot (particularly if there could be multiple agitators) When other civilians are around how do you ensure you are not perceived as a(nother) aggressor The risks to an armed civilian when unarmed civilians are panicking around them What happens when the Police arrive etc I wore my heart rate monitor to gauge how my pulse reacted in one of the scenarios. My normal resting heart rate is 64 bpm, while awaiting outside the room for a scenario to start my heart rate increased to between 110-130 bpm and during a scenario my heart rate peaked at 164 bpm. That in itself was interesting as it matches a hard cardio workout at the gym. So far the best Simunitions training day by far and my thanks to Joe, Chuck, Mac and Pilar (and the other students). TheWombat

And over 6000 views :-) Not bad..... TheWombat

Answers above for the Viridian C5L (the smaller light/laser). Overall the PPQ is a good choice, the Viridian C5L is a good match for home defense with its only weak point being the battery cover. Take care when fitting or removing the battery cover or you risk cross threading it. Viridian customer support was phenomenal. HTH TheWombat

I've shot 115, 124 and 147 FMJ through my PPQ as per the earlier posts. Never had any problems. I've also not heard of any issues with 124 or 147 with the PPS, at least o recent posts on the Walther forums. The only HP ammo I've shot in quantity is Speer Gold Dot 124gr. I'm happy to try some 147 HP but don't have any. TheWombat.

I took my NRA basic pistol at NJ Firearms Academy last year and it was NOT a positive experience. There were two main issues: 1. Latief (instructor) leaving mid morning (unsure why) and leaving his student instructors to finish the course. 2. The indoor range we used was awful, claustrophobic and just not a nice environment. He did apologize and offer a free tuition follow up, however the range was bad enough we declined. I've since undertaken quite a few Gun For Hire courses and enjoyed them all. That's just my experience, perhaps I was just unlucky. TheWombat

From CNN "Lane, who lived with his grandparents [...]. While he was known by many around Chardon High School, located 30 miles east of Cleveland, at the time of the shooting he was there to be transported to Lake Academy Alternative School in nearby Willoughby. The school describes itself as a place for "at risk" students who are "reluctant learners" struggling with problems such as "substance abuse /chemical dependency, anger issues, mental health issues, truancy, delinquency, difficulties with attention/organization, and academic deficiencies." Lane may have been dealing with his own family problems, according to reports by The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland. Lane's father has been arrested several times for violent crimes against female acquaintances, including Lane's mother, the newspaper reported citing court documents. Between 1995 and 1997, Lane's first two years, his father Thomas Lane Jr. and his mother were both arrested for domestic violence against each other, the paper reported. His father also served prison time for assaulting a police officer and he also was charged with holding a different woman under running water and bashing her head into a wall, the newspaper reported." TheWombat

Soon....! Very Soon...... :-) TheWombat

Welcome!

Assuming that the student is underage to own a firearm then do we know whether the firearm is from the student's parents, someone else, or illegal? I struggle in situations such as this (albeit we have limited facts) in not holding the parents with some level of accountability, as my understanding is that the student is still a minor? It is very unfortunate whenever incidents like this occur as it provides opportunities for the media and extreme pro/anti firearm people to turn it into an agenda for personal gain. A sad day TheWombat

Just a quick follow up now we've had these for about a month. MrsWombat had her first chance to try her P228 with the Gray Guns CRRAP (Carry Reduced Reset Action Package) yesterday when she was at RTSP. There was a lot of Wombat love for the "new" P228 and MrsWombat found the improvements were very noticeable and positive. Considering the P228 already had a good trigger to begin with then that is great news! We'll have to see whether the P228 takes the place of a 1911 on the next GFH course we do The P226 USPSA with the ELCP is working well with no failures using 9mm ammunition. The standard .22 conversion also works well and benefits from the greatly improved trigger. Overall there is a lot of Sig-love in the Wombat household now Although the PPQ is still my no. 1 :-) TheWombat