TheWombat

They hollered at her 150% more than they did to anyone else - probably because she has a 1911 :-) It was all well natured and fun! :-) TheWombat

The only negative experience I've had so far was I ordered 20 boxes of Gold Dot as part of a larger order on 24th Nov 2011. The order went through and my CC was charged the full amount. 2 weeks later still nothing received and no tracking number even though subsequent ammo order from 29th Nov was delivered. I also received the email about was I happy with my Gold Dot order to which I responded by email I had not received them.... I didn't hear anything back though... After a bit more time, I received shipping confirmation on 5th December and the order was delivered. However rather than 20 boxes of Gold Dot there were only 15 boxes and the packing note had the 20 crossed out and 15 written on by hand. I assume that they had delayed sending the order hoping they would receive more Gold Dot and therefore would be able to fulfill the order, however realised that this wouldn't happen and ended up sending only the 15 boxes. What irritates me was there was no mention was made in the package in terms of an apology for not being able to completely fulfill the order and that the balance would be refunded. I phoned TargetSportsUSA on 7th December and they said that they only had 15 boxes in stock at the time, and they would refund me for the missing 5 boxes. By the 16th December no refund had appeared on my CC so I once again called, this time the refund was actioned within a couple of days. Overall, the customer service was poor. I understand that they might have only had 15 boxes, but they could have handled this better by: 1. informing me there was only 15 boxes and did I want it shipped (with a partial refund) or to wait 2. Including in the package an apology note for not sending the complete order and an explanation that I would receive a refund within 'x' days 3. When I phoned about the refund, they could have actually actioned it rather than make me phone again a week later. My other 2 orders have been actioned smoothly through them. TheWombat

Try Skype? It works well, you can get Skype handsets if you like to have a 'real phone' to hold. We cut Cable TV and Cable phone... Just have Cable Internet. TheWombat

Very odd - it used to work a couple of weeks or so ago for me, however now it doesn't seem to and I've tried IE 9, Google Chrome 16, Firefox 9 this evening all with the same result. It may be one of my popup blocker add-ons is now causing an issue. The HTML rendered to the browser in Google Chrome 16 for the Reputation on post #83 above (PK 90 with a + reputation of 1) is below: <span class="reputation positive rep_show" title="Reputation"> 1 </span> So doesn't seem to have any list of people that I'd have thought would be visible in the HTML. I will check on MrsWombat PC later. Oh well, I will live in the world of anonymous reputation for now. TheWombat

Is it just me, or is the reputation voting back to being anonymous? TheWombat

I may take the Ed Brown to the next GFH course I do and see how well it holds up, having seen what happens on these courses I think even my premium 1911 may struggle to be as reliable and robust as the Glocks/PPQs etc. It will be interesting to see though. If nothing else the course was an eye opener for what I had already heard from other instructors, that Glocks and simple guns are best as a practical weapon for many people and that (many) 1911s and firearms with specific safeties either are not as suitable or require significantly more training. However throughout the entire day, MrsWombat never lost her cool and ended up getting much more practice than I did on clearing failures, which is not a bad thing to practice! :-) TheWombat

There may be no users of the PPQ at present, however there are a number of users of the P99 on which it is derived. Admittedly nowhere near the number of users of Glocks, at least partially due to Walthers not coming in .45 caliber and being more focused on the European market. For me it is personal preference, the PPQ solved some of the aspects of the Glock 17/19 that I personally didn't like, e.g. ergonomics, controls, trigger. Glock have made improvements on some of these aspects with the latest Gen 4. They are both great brands, best thing for the OP to do is to try them all and see which they personally prefer. hth TheWombat

Agreed, IDPA would help with this course, and this course would help with IDPA.. TheWombat

MrsWombat and I have just returned home from the GFH Urban Pistol 1 & 2 courses held by GunForHire at Cedar Grove. Our instructors were Joe and Chuck (who both also run the Simunitions). Urban Pistol 1 Course Description: 'This course will serve as an introduction to Urban Pistol Shooting for the novice shooter. The course will begin with the fundamentals of shooting on move into tactical pistol shooting drills. Topics covered to include safety, fundamentals of shooting, drawing, multiple targets, shooting positions, shooting on the move, shooting behind cover. Moving with a loaded weapon and basic building search technique' There were 6 students, which is the perfect size to allow for learning from others while keeping a rapid pace to the course. There is no theory/PowerPoint presentations - the entire class is held in the range. We started on some dot drills, multiple shots and drawing from holster. What stance is preferred, how to move forwards and backwards and how to use cover effectively. We shot about 300 to 350 rounds each and the class was well put together and run safely. Having the ability to practice moving and shooting was great. Handling some of the malfunctions (forced and accidental) that firearms may have while having some degree of pressure was perfect, and it was interesting to see which firearms had no issues (PPQ) and which had some issues (no comment.... ) Urban Pistol 2 Course Description: 'This 4 hour course is an advanced Urban Pistol shooting course not for the faint hearted. The course will begin with a quick review of the fundamentals and move right into advanced shooting techniques. Topics covered to include safety, fundamentals review, drawing, reloads, malfunctions, multiple targets, shooting positions, shooting on the move, shooting behind cover. Moving from cover to cover position with a loaded weapon. Shooting from motor vehicles. Basic building search to include follow on rooms.' There were 9 students (5 from the Urban Pistol 1) and 4 students who had taken the UP1 at a previous time. The level 2 stepped up the pressure considerably, including items such as: Shooting while lying on your back Shooting while sitting in a chair Moving sideways (as well as backwards and forwards) Shoot, don't shoot scenarios Taking on a multiple targets with hostage situations while moving through a 20yd by 25yd course of fire, including moving forwards, backwards, sideways etc More advanced shooting from cover etc Exercises covering clearing malfunctions and reloading while moving We shot about 300 to 350 rounds each and the class, as per Urban Pistol 1, was well put together and run safely. Summary Well worth while attending, we were able to practice situations that would absolutely happen in real life that would not be able to be practiced in a normal shooting range session. So far I'd rate it on par with Simunitions in terms of the learning. Both MrsWombat and I found some changes/tweaks we need to make to our holsters, mag pouches etc which we would not have uncovered just shooting normally at a range. In addition it reinforces the differences that occur to one's technique between standard range practice and a more realistic scenario. Now I have additional tips to help continue to drill in good behaviours. I would rate the class overall as a solid 'A'. In total with the PPQ I shot 600 rounds between the two classes (550 Winchester Whitebox 124gr NATO and 50 Sellier & Belot 124gr) and had no failures of any type (other than those purposefully introduced by the instructors as part of the training). There was a mix of firearms being used by students including Kimber 1911, Sig, Springfield XD, Glock, Beretta 92 and the PPQ. The students who had the more simple firearms typically had far fewer issues (either with the user or the firearm) And a big thank you to Joe and Chuck for making the long day fun, interesting, safe and a great learning experience. :-) TheWombat

agreed, I'd recommend the PPQ in 9mm rather than .40 I'll be using the PPQ at a GFH Urban Pistol course tomorrow and likely be putting 600+ rounds through it during the day, so am fast approaching 3000 rounds in total. TheWombat

See my Walther PPQ thread on this forum. The PPQ is a very impressive firearm and almost all YouTube reviews recommend it. I have shot a fair few brands of ammunition now including Hollow Points and not had any failures. I've listed some of the ammo I've shot in post #29 onwards. For me it is an A+ firearm and one I'd recommend people try. The only real downsides are the limited accessories as it is not as common as a Glock, however every week more holster manufacturers etc are adding it to their production line. I've put coming up to 2000 rounds through the PPQ with no failures. I will be at a GFH Urban Pistol course tomorrow which will likely result in shooting ~600 rounds and I am confident the PPQ will perform flawlessly and I will have no failures. I will be taking a mixture of ammunition (115gr, 124gr, 147gr, Winchester, S&B, Federal, Speer, Remington) just to finish of the last few 'orphan' boxes from when I tried 2 boxes of each ammo type from each major manufacturer. Going forward my ammunition of preference is Speer Lawman. There is also a lot of information on the Walther forums. TheWombat

I've used it to buy a few pistols where the local boys couldn't help. Been very happy with the price, and ease of business. TheWombat

If all you want to do is shoot some paper at a range then I believe that basic training on safety, sighting etc may be sufficient depending on your goals and level of competence you want to achieve. If you are looking to carry (presumably outside of NJ) then in my view I'd recommend further training if you feel that you may need to react appropriately in a scenario. If you are carrying but never expect/plan to use the firearm then additional training may not be required. Additional training here could include understanding the legal implications, when to shoot, how best to draw from concealed, different type of holsters and clothing, how to minimize the chance of collateral damage, considering how and where to move, what to say, how to identify possible signs of imminent danger, how to shoot accurately enough without using full sight alignment etc, how to draw while seated in a car/chair, scenarios to understand how you react under added stress, how to shoot and move while still hitting your target, how to (and should you) support a LEO without getting hurt/in trouble, how to handle multiple assailants, drills to try at home, etc If you are looking to defend in a home invasion then additional training could include: where to position your weapons in the house, considerations for location of furniture/phones/torches etc, determining your escape plan, legal implications, how to react, making a 'safe room', pieing a room, what to do with multiple assailants, what to do if you are upstairs and your family/friends are downstairs in a home invasion, drills to try at home, etc If you are looking to defend a zombie invasion then training could include: how to kill a zombie, suitable weapon choice, suitable caliber/bullet choice, zombie flesh cooking/recipes suggestions, identification of different zombie species and where the fatal hits are, how quick they move, what attracts them how to handle being touched/scratched by a zombie, falling in love with a zombie and raising half-zombie children, chat up lines that work with zombies (this one is for Ray Ray ), etc For me personally, I am training to fast track my knowledge of effective and appropriate use of firearms, I am also taking training just 'for fun'. So long as the cost of the courses are within a budget you are willing and able to cover then it is no different from any other hobby. Do I believe that where I live I will likely suffer a home invasion? - NO. However it would be pretty stupid to not at least consider the scenario and discuss with MrsWombat what we would do. I am sure other families have thought it wouldn't happen to them only to become a statistic in the news. Do I believe that I am likely to need to use my CCW? - NO. However what if I do happen to be in a restaurant/diner when something happens, what would I feel if I see MrsWombat eyes glaze over for the last time while I am holding her bloody body in my arms, hiding behind a table while some disturbed person approaches me with a firearm and my firearm has jammed or been left at home etc, or I used my firearm and just hit the wall and am out of rounds... Also Ray Ray just asked about 'training' rather than instructor led courses. To me training can be achieved in many different ways e.g. reading firearm magazines and the scenarios they give reading firearm books watching YouTube videos reading Forums instructor led courses etc People will achieve different results for the above based on their personality type, introvert/extrovert, mind set and many other factors. The goal of training is to fast track learning that you could achieve through 'trial and error'. I am fortunate enough to be able to currently take a number of instructor led courses and hence I am making the most of the opportunity. Others would spend the same amount of money in a month on gas for a SUV, beer/wine etc, buying new handguns, shooting 1000s of rounds, buying gadgets/tvs etc. My personal belief is that however good you are there is always opportunity to improve, and having someone instruct you provides a review and guidance that may trigger learning you may otherwise have taken many years to uncover. And for me it's part of having fun with a hobby, meeting people etc. hth TheWombat

In November MrsWombat and I attended a Gun For Hire (GFH) Step 2 pistol course. This is a non-NRA class which was held at the Cedar Grove Essex County College Police Academy. The range is fantastic and well worth going on a course in order to see! The standard GFH Step 2 course is typically expected to be a 1:1 or up to a total of 4 students and has the following requirements "You will need a strong side holster, modern firearm, three magazines or speed loaders, 200 rounds of factory ammo, and eye and ear protection. Knee pads and cover garment are optional." The course description mentions that the course will cover: Strong Hand Shooting Weak Hand Shooting Strong Side Cover Weak Side Cover Reloading - Stress and Rapid Controlled Groups Shooting Over Cover Shooting Under Cover Holster or Concealment Draw & More.... For our specific Step 2 course however GFH were offering a significantly discounted course with more students (~8). We still covered the majority of the above items, such as shooting from cover (strong and weak side), moving and shooting, dot drills, holster drawing, controlled groups, reloading. In total we shot around 75 rounds so with the additional students we probably didn't cover all the exercises in as much detail as a 1:1 or smaller group training would have. I was actually surprised at how few rounds it was when I got home and had to recount since it felt like far more. Shooting from around cover, both strong and weak side takes some practice, and has made me think more about how we would react on a home invasion for example. With the set up in the range the cover can be moved around to change the distance and sideways offset to the targets. It was overall a great training day, we both enjoyed it and MrsWombat outshot me when the pressure was on. Having Anthony shout 'threat', and then having to draw and fire without taking a long pause to aim seems to make a difference! The Step 2 course has given me some very practical and useful drills to try at our normal range and to try at home with our Airsoft setup. note: We also attended the NRA Step 1 Class that was held in the morning as a refresher since we're fairly new to firearms. I've previously attended an NRA Basic Pistol which I believe is a more thorough introduction for a new shooter. Overall Step 2 is recommended! TheWombat

Get back down to 72kg weight, 16% body fat and being fit. (For anyone looking to get fit, lose weight I can thoroughly recommend Power 90 and P90X DVD training series) Shoot consistent 3" groups at 15 yards Compete in at least 10 competitions will leave it at that for now TheWombat

Back in December I had the opportunity to attend a Gun For Hire (GFH) Force on Force Simunitions class (Force on Force Civilian Simulation Training Level 1) at the GFH Belleville site. The course description mentions the following topics are covered (and they were): Safety Proper Use of Force on Force Training Equipment Mental Mindset Legal Considerations of the Armed Home Owner, CCW Holder Home Defense Considerations CCW Holder Considerations ( Gear selection and Placement ETC. ) Realistic Force on Force Scenarios ( Set up to mirror your home defense plan or your CCW equipment layout ) A video tape review of all force on force training scenarios completed that day and recommendations by our top Simunition and Law Enforcement Instructors on ways you can improve survival chances in a real world deadly force encounter There were 3 students in the class, a married couple and myself, so it was a small group. The class begins with a presentation covering some legal and practical considerations for a armed home owner or CCW carrier. This in itself was very useful as the laws on when you can and cannot act were clarified for me and included some examples. Following the presentation and Q&A we moved into the 'house' for the scenarios, the 'house' has a number of real rooms, furniture etc etc. I won't give too much away however since if you attend it will be more valuable to experience it without knowing fully what to expect. I will say that the firearms used are realistic (glocks), with recoil, brass ejecting, noise, magazines etc. The pellets when they hit you do cause some discomfort or pain (e.g. if hit on the hand), however with the face masks on and the ground rules in place the training is safe. These are definitely not Airsoft pistols. We had two instructors, one typically on the video camera to record the session and the other as the intruder. In some cases we had two intruders. The scenarios play out relatively quickly, they set the heart beating, and while I had some degree of "it's just a game", there is definitely sufficient adrenaline and fight/flight feelings to add real value to the training. In one scenario I was an unarmed visitor at a friend's house, and ended up being executed due to the friend's actions (or inactions)! That in itself was an experience! Overall I would rate the course favourably. GFH are also building a much larger compound for Force on Force training which will be ready some time in 2012 and would make the class outstanding. We had a technical hitch on our session with the video camera taking a dive to the floor which prevented the replay of the scenarios, however this did give us a little extra time to play some additional scenarios instead. My only other comment would be that depending on the group size the number of scenarios undertaken may differ. I will be returning to try the training with MrsWombat since I saw some very valuable lessons being learnt by the married couple who attended. I have also made some adjustments in our home based on the experiences from the day. The training reinforces my belief that just shooting paper targets in a range will not prepare most people for a real life scenario, whether it is being partially awake/disorientated, having to draw/find a weapon, having to make a decision as to whether to shoot someone, having to protect a loved one or find cover v concealment. Force on Force is therefore a valuable aspect to a broader training regime, it is also fun! Recommended! TheWombat

MrsWombat and I just attended the GFH Self Defense Pen Class. This is an 8 hour class in the Belleville location. The course is run by Atienza Kali. There were around 10 students and 10 instructors (although I may have my numbers slightly wrong) however it was about a 1:1 ratio. It is an entirely practical class, no sitting down or Powerpoints to watch. The class focuses around 9 target points on a human at which to strike, and goes through various hands on training routines to begin to drill these in. MrsWombat and I got a little excitable with trying to disable each other and I can say that even a blunt pen is very effective! Later in the class we used our own tactical pens to shred cardboard to help demonstrate how little force is needed. The last 20 minutes of the class was an introduction on how to approach the same techniques with a knife. Everything taught on the course could be applied and integrated with any pre-existing defense/martial arts training you may have including firearms. Carry a few bic biros or other standard pens/pencils is all that is needed. Buying a $20 tactical pen is not necessary, albeit it can add a little extra to the penetration. Overall the class was very good, I'd rate it highly in understanding how deadly even a bic biro or a blunt sharpie marker can be and how these everyday items can be used for defense when firearms or other weapons are not available. The course price is $150, the trainers were helpful, professional and experienced. Safety was paramount and the instructors were the pin-cushions until students became more familiar with the moves. Overall - I'd recommend this class. Thanks to GFH and the Atienza Kali team thanks TheWombat

Very nice! TheWombat

MrsWombat and I just attended the GFH Self Defense Pen Class. This is an 8 hour class in the Belleville location. The course is run by Atienza Kali. There were around 10 students and 10 instructors (although I may have my numbers slightly wrong) however it was about a 1:1 ratio. It is an entirely practical class, no sitting down or Powerpoints to watch. The class focuses around 9 target points on a human at which to strike, and goes through various hands on training routines to begin to drill these in. MrsWombat and I got a little excitable with trying to disable each other and I can say that even a blunt pen is very effective! Later in the class we used our own tactical pens to shred cardboard to help demonstrate how little force is needed. The last 20 minutes of the class was an introduction on how to approach the same techniques with a knife. Everything taught on the course could be applied and integrated with any pre-existing defense/martial arts training you may have including firearms. Carry a few bic biros or other standard pens/pencils is all that is needed. Buying a $20 tactical pen is not necessary, albeit it can add a little extra to the penetration. Overall the class was very good, I'd rate it highly in understanding how deadly even a bic biro or a blunt sharpie marker can be and how these everyday items can be used for defense when firearms or other weapons are not available. The course price is $150, the trainers were helpful, professional and experienced. Safety was paramount and the instructors were the pin-cushions until students became more familiar with the moves. Overall - I'd recommend this class. Thanks to GFH and the Atienza Kali team thanks TheWombat

Agreed on all the feedback re: when setting up a home range then consider safety. Ideally for me I'd have heavy curtains across the large window behind the targets that can be closed when the range is in use and hence create a safe backstop just in case a BB misses the target. Also if undertaking actions that may increase the chance of a miss then I would revert back to the larger target boxes or move down to the garage. Albeit so far we've had no misses, statistically it is likely to happen at some point. I've replaced the bubble-wrap inside the plastic containers with some black rubber matting that I had left over (originally bought from Lowes) that was purchased for covering the shelves in the safes. It looks like this can withstand the BBs albeit it will be checked weekly when the targets are emptied of BBs. This was actually MrsWombat's idea and was one of those DUH moments for me! Just in case I was unclear, if you have just a cardboard box, or just a plastic container then the BBs with eventually destroy them (and could occur within 1 day depending on how many shots you fire). The BBs travel at ~300 fps and as you can see from the earlier pictures are more than capable of severely denting metal. Therefore it is important to have something to slow down the BBs once they have struck the target. Options include: Bubblewrap - would need replacing every so often cardboard - a BB will typically penetrate two (maybe three) layers of cardboard from Amazon boxes, so just cut some up and put inside the target box. It will need replacing at intervals and also has a habit of 'catching' the BBs, so if you want to reuse the BBs you have to dig them out. Air bags - like Amazon uses when they ship things - albeit they puncture and need replacing fairly often Material - e.g. shower curtain, mesh curtain, towel, pillow slip - will last a (much) longer time Rubber matting - works well Plenty of other options as well, try things out and see what works. Where possible I have tried to use materials I already have in the house rather than go shopping. Since I Internet shop fairly regularly I usually have bubble wrap, airbags, cardboard etc in the house. If you are in a basement, outside or somewhere where controlling the BB ricochet is not required then just using some light metal plates is also an option, albeit the BBs will be flying all over the place. We now have airsoft pistols that replicate real pistols i.e. 5" 1911 (replicates Kimber), Commander 1911 (replicates Ed Brown), 226 and 229 that fit in our proper holsters etc. We'll leave it at that now and just see how the next couple of months unfolds. I continue to feel that this home range is beneficial, and more importantly fun... for little outlay. TheWombat

Good write up, having been on the SIMs course in December your description is spot on. Just reinforces to me that going to a range is just one part of a broader training approach that is necessary if you want to be more prepared for a real situation. TheWombat

Hence the bubble wrap on the inside of the plastic will stop the BBs from breaking the plastic, or you could as easily use a cardboard box - once again with something on the inside to slow down the BBs. Or, what I have done is place some cardboard inside the plastic container as these stop the BBs with no damage to the plastic container. Agreed, I wouldn't recommend putting a target in front of a window unless you have a heavy curtain or something which is drawn in front of the window. TheWombat

The Ed Brown was getting lonely.. And now has a friend TheWombat

Now with Christmas over and the decorations away MrsWombat asked me to consider how I can reduce the clutter of the home range. Now while many Wombats would have taken to burrowing in holes and drinking too much Fosters and XXXX I took this as a challenge to my Wombat ingenuity! MrsWombat's requirements were: Less clutter in the living room, so when not in use the target holders need to be out of the way When in use, she still wanted the living room to not be cluttered No BBs bouncing around Needs to be able to be set up or taken down in less than 3 minutes. I realised from the original home range that the majority of the time I am shooting 1/3rd side IPSC targets and I am not missing the paper unless I am trying to do something very unusual such as draw from holster and fire with my eyes closed - to mimic pepper spray or some other bizarre situation. Therefore the revised range uses much smaller containers that hang from a line/cord. The containers are small enough to put under the sofa/living room suite when not in use and MrsWombat has given this latest version a much higher wife approval. Comparison of old (left) and new (right). Note that the cord is now tighter than shows on this photo, however this was my initial trial to see if the concept would work. If you have a sliding glass door etc with a curtain in front then that would make a very good backstop in case you were to miss, albeit you'd have to be trying very hard to miss! In reality the new version can just be a plastic container or a cardboard box with some bubblewrap on the inside, some paper pulled over the front and then the target taped on. Retention of BBs is 100%. From the side you can see I am using bulldog clips (or whatever the equivalent US name is) to clip the paper on. This makes it easy to change and removes any need for tape. Since taking this photo I have put some bubblewrap on the inside to stop the BBs cracking the plastic. The plastic containers could just as easily be cardboard boxes - just depends on what you have available. Overall much less hassle, much easier to set up and take down, all you need is something to attach them to, I am currently hanging some clothesline cord (at close to ceiling height) across the room. The cord is attached to bookcases but other options could be used depending on your room layout. The cord can either just be left or quickly removed depending on the wife's wishes. note: If setting up a home range then please ensure you use some common sense on where you are setting it up and what materials you are using. BBs can inflict pain and damage as they travel at ~300 fps. big thumbs up from MrsWombat in terms of improvement over the original. :-) TheWombat

I bought these as well, they work fine I just felt a little goofy so paid the extra for the Revision Sawfly and I keep the NRA ones as spares for visitors and backup TheWombat