TheWombat

I have the Sig P226 USPSA - so the 226 with a beaver tail and fiber optic front sight. I greatly enjoy shooting it although I did send it to Gray Guns to have trigger work done to it. I've put 4000+ rounds through it now. Overall I enjoy the Sig P226 and P228 models. The .22 conversions are ok - but I wouldn't say great, and are worth getting if you shoot frequently. TheWombat

Picked up my iPhone 5 today (Black) and have to say I like it. I've switched from a BlackBerry so still trying to get used to the lack of a real keyboard - other than that so far a positive experience. I ordered via the Apple website at 10pm last night when they display available stock in stores for the next day. Drove to Garden State Plaza and while the Apple Store was busy - I was in and out within just a few minutes. MrsWombat is still enjoying her one (White) that she received on launch day. A definite improvement from her iPhone 3GS. TheWombat

If you are able to aim and shoot and have spent a couple of hours reviewing YouTube or other videos then you are most likely fine for Urban Pistol 1. Best thing to do is to phone Anthony at GFH and explain your experience level and see what he suggests. If you've done NRA Basic Pistol then I wouldn't do First Steps - just my view. The main prerequisite (in my view) for Urban Pistol 1 is that you are safe with a firearm. Can you draw from a holster - taking your time. Some of this you can practice at home with an UNLOADED firearm, then use the GFH classes to provide some additional finessing of technique and additional skills. TheWombat

Makes me wonder why I take the time to write reviews and include tags :-) TheWombat

As OGG mentioned above, the answer is yes. My suggestion however would be to sign up and complete Urban Pistol 1&2 first, and then look into 1:1 training if required. TheWombat

I've been doing similar to my firearms, although typically there are no pre-cut grips available for the Walthers so I just bought a roll of grip tape from the local Home Depot. Works well, and is cheap. I also place a bit where my weak hand thumb will rest just ahead of the takedown lever. Acts as a useful reference point. I've also started to use Prince Grip Plus which is a liquid gel you rub onto your hands, wait a couple of minutes, and then it stops any sweat. I've had some good success with it in indoor ranges although the downside is if you touch your clothing you'll get white marks, so no having a quick scratch when wearing dark colored trousers! TheWombat

The reasoning isn't to do with the class (ESP vs SSP), more down to a few other factors: The Sig P226 USPSA was my first firearm and bought on the premise I would compete with it. It has the Fiber Optic front sight etc and also has had several $hundred of trigger work. It would be a shame to not compete with it after all that! The PPQ is my HD firearm and I don't want to be loading/unloading the HPs all the time and taking the Viridian light off it etc. At some point MrsWombat will allow me to buy another PPQ perhaps and I'll have one setup for competing (Dawson sight etc) and one for HD (night sights and Viridian light). This may well align timing wise with when Walther USA gets created and S&W no longer are the importers of the PPQ. The PPQ has close to 4000 rounds through it now so is taking a well deserved break :-) Now that my initial exuberance of buying firearms is slowing down, I'm figuring out what my longer term approach is on the handguns. Do I want to have the same style of firearm for Carry, Home Defense and Competing - i.e. similar controls, trigger style etc - even if the actual firearm model could differ. Overall I remain very happy with the PPQ and the out of the box trigger experience. Accessory choice is improving (e.g. Dawson are now offering sights). While I would prefer the slightly lower bore axis of the M&P or Glock, I think the PPQ is a tremendous firearm. I've not found much in the way of sharp edges however this could just come down to different grip, stance etc and I typically don't rest my hand on the back of the firearm. TheWombat

I don't believe this will meet the FL prerequisites as it does not include a live fire element. TheWombat

IIRC when I did my FL CCW a few months back, you need a certificate from a course/class you have done - this could be NRA Basic Pistol, a Hunter's Safety Card etc - I'm not sure if it is ANY formal training that counts, but it is flexible to include a number of formal training classes that include a live fire element. The other bits you need to do are below, from looking on the GunForHire website they offer these as individual items e.g. if you've already received eligible training elsewhere (I think!) you can just do one or more of the below with them. Prints – $20 Notary – $10 Photos – $20 I would assume you could talk to your local PD or others and see whether you can save on some of the above. I applied through GunForHire for the convenience factor as I was also applying for my Utah CCW. TheWombat

There is an excellent Add-On call Ghostery. It will show you unobtrusively any and all tracking cookies for a site and you can have it deny the cookies automatically, set exceptions etc. Together with AdBlockPlus it is a good set of tools. For example on this forum we have Google +1 and Google Analytics, which are being blocked by my Ghostery. In reality though - you are an old fart :-) The Internet is the way forward and the store is just trying to up-sell and cross-sell which is no different to what happens in the real bricks and mortars stores although on the Internet they can tie in more quickly to what you are looking at. I dislike advertisting of items that has no relevance to the website I am looking at, however when shopping at an on-line store I don't have an issue with the store showing me special offers. Just my view though TheWombat

Understand fully - switching between my Sig and my Walthers takes a bit to get used to the differing mag releases when I'm at the range. I like both styles but at present my Sig is having a resurgence of use over the PPQ due to me competing at IDPA with the Sig and it also having the .22 conversion. TheWombat

Heresy, Sacrilege, Blasphemy... I think I don't like you no more! TheWombat

Also to answer the question on long unavailability. I believe it is down to two reasons: 1) the PPQ has become far more popular than Walther were expecting in the US 2) Smith & Wesson are the importers for Walther, however Walther have announced that they are ending this relationship and setting up their own Walther importing organization. It is anticipated that Walther US will begin being the active importer from January. hth TheWombat

PK90 (http://www.colddeadhands.com/firearms.htm) has TWO for sale - new 9mm, $540. I assume they will go very quickly as the PPQ is in short supply and high demand. TheWombat

Best to phone them - I've found email is sporadic on getting a response, or you could post the question on their facebook page. TheWombat

I'll be there tomorrow morning TheWombat

I've included a post below I wrote on the Walther Forum (http://www.waltherfo...icants-etc.html) I do clean after (almost) every range trip, a typical range trip will including 200-400 rounds. The only exception is typically if I've shot < 100 rounds and am shooting again within the next 24-48 hours. This level of cleaning is definitely NOT required - it is just my preference and I find it somewhat therapeutic to clean while listening to music. For centerfire you can go several thousand rounds without cleaning - for .22LR it is typically more like several hundred but does depend on firearm and ammunition being used. I would suggest building up your cleaning supplies gradually - just start of with something like: Nitrile Gloves CLP Gun Oil .22 bore snake .22 cleaning patches .22 rod for pushing patches Will be enough to get you going hth TheWombat --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As someone asked me how I go about cleaning my PPQ I thought I'd type it up and post it here as well. The below is what works well for me and I prefer to run firearms, even Glocks, fairly 'wet' which some people will not agree with. Note: I wear Nitrile gloves while undertaking the below. Cleaning Hoppes No 9 Solvent (do not breathe this in! I use a little pipette/dropper to take some out of the container and then close the container.)**** Hoppes Elite Gun Cleaner Hoppers Elite Copper Terminator BreakFreeCLP ****Note: the Walther manual states to not use Ammonia based cleaning products. Hoppes No 9 is ammonia based. There have been examples of people leaving No 9 on their firearms for several hours or longer and having the blueing on the firearm being stripped. A quick Google shows competing viewpoints on the use of Hoppes No 9 solvent. Personally I just use No 9 on the inside of my barrel and I do not leave it on for extended periods of time and I do not use it on the frame or the slide. I remove the magazine and safety check the firearm. I first wipe down the outside of the firearm with a thin cloth/towel including the sights. I then field strip and place the parts on paper towel/kitchen roll. I clean the outside of the barrel with dry cleaning patches to remove the grease/debris I squirt some Gun Cleaner inside the barrel and put it aside for 5+ minutes I clean the inside of the frame, slide and recoil spring with just cleaning patches (no cleaner on them) to get rid of the worst of the old grease and other debris including in the magazine well, wherever possible ensure you a push debris out of the firearm rather than towards the trigger/striker assemblies, e.g. Clean the magazine well from the top of the firearm downwards. I then put BreakFree CLP on cleaning patches and re-clean the frame, slide and recoil spring, also using a nylon and brass brush as required. I carefully clean around the firing pin and extractor. I then run a cleaning patch through the barrel. I then spray some Gun Cleaner on my Hoppes Bore Snake and run it through the barrel. I clean the muzzle and feed ramp to remove any debris using nylon brush and cleaning patches with CLP. Depending on how many rounds I have fired and how thorough the last clean was I will then also: Put some Copper Terminator on a brush and run it through the inside of the barrel, followed by running a couple of cleaning patches Put some no. 9 Cleaning Solvent on a cleaning patch and run it through the inside of the barrel Finally run dry cleaning patches through the barrel until they come out clean I then use compressed air in a can to blow out any final debris from around trigger, magazine well, striker assembly and springs Lubrication BreakFree CLP Slide-Glide Lite Shooter's Choice All Weather Grease (comes in a syringe) Hoppes Lubricating Oil (comes in a small container with a needle applicator) Before putting the PPQ back together: I apply a thin film of CLP to the inside of the slide/frame using a cleaning patch. I apply some CLP to the recoil spring using a cleaning patch. I apply a thin amount of Shooter's Choice along the inside rails of the slide. I apply a little oil or CLP on a cleaning patch and run it through the interior of the barrel followed by a dry cleaning patch. The aim should be to have a very thin coating on the inside of the barrel. I apply some Slide-Glide along the length of the outside of the barrel (where it is circular in cross section) I put the barrel and recoil spring back together into the slide I apply a thin amount of Slide-Glide along the length of the bottom of the rails of the slide I apply a thin amount of Shooter's Choice to the 4 slide rails on the frame I apply a thin amount of Slide-Glide along the upper surface of the frame where the Slide will run I use a little bit of Lubricating Oil in the trigger assembly and other springs If there is anywhere shiny that indicates metal-metal contact/wear it gets a little bit of Slide-Glide or Oil. I put the frame and slide back together and rack the slide 10-15 times before cleaning of any excess grease. Note that if you have much excess grease it means you applied too much, so next time use less! I then wipe down the outside of the firearm with a little CLP on a patch before using a Silicon Impregnated cloth for the final wipe. For magazines I will either just wipe down the outside with a little CLP or I will take them apart and use dry cleaning patches on the inside and a little CLP on the outside. I don't use CLP on the inside (usually) to ensure that the rounds do not get 'gummed up'. If I do use a cleaner, e.g. On a more thorough clean at each 1000 round count, then I ensure I thoroughly dry the interior of the magazine. The above is based on memory so apologies if I missed anything. The above is also based on me using the PPQ on a weekly basis and I strip and clean after every session. I typically carry my PPQ either IWB without the light or OWB with the light. If carrying then do ensure that excess lubricant/grease/oil is removed so your clothing is not soiled. If the firearm is being stored for an elongated length of time then you may need to adjust the above. The PPQ doesn't actually need this level of cleaning and can go several thousand rounds without issue. I personally find cleaning therapeutic with music playing in the background. When my current syringe of Shooter's Choice runs out I will try using Lubriplate 105 in the syringe instead to see how well it works. I don't need to use so many different products however as I have them I've decided to use them. Using just CLP and either Slide-Glide or Shooter's Choice is probably more than sufficient for cleaning and lubricating unless the PPQ is very dirty. The PPQ can be run much dryer than the above, however the above is my personal preference and approach. The above takes me 20-30 minutes to do and after 3000 rounds I have not had failures or issues with the PPQ. hth TheWombat --------------------------------------------------------------

Can't answer your question - but as a Green Card holder the 90 day proof is something I've had to do each time. I've not bought a firearm in the last few months though. TheWombat

This article mentions a Florida woman flew from Orlando to Newark with a loaded handgun in her purse this morning after forgetting to tell airport screeners about the gun. She reported it to Port Authority officers after she exited the flight. The Essex County prosecutor declined to prosecuted based on the fact that the woman self-reported it. http://www.nypost.co...Cr0gLhS1cD1nu7N Surprised to not see this more prominent in the news, and also surprised to see the prosecutor declining to prosecute. I would say that perhaps common sense prevailed however the bigger worry is how did the gun get through the airport screeners at Florida? Is this a new precedent or has this occurred before in Newark Airport? TheWombat

Walther PPQ.... awesome :-) TheWombat

SGAmmo has 50 round boxes of Speer Gold Dot (.45 ACP 185gr, 200gr +P and 220gr plus 9mm 124gr and 124gr+P) etc. The 50 round boxes work out much much cheaper. Speer Gold Dot +P is used by many of the police forces. e.g. 50 rd box - Speer Gold Dot 9mm 124 +P LE Hollow Point 53617 - $25.95 each 50 rd box - Speer Gold Dot 45 Auto +P 200GR GDHP Ammo 53969 - $31.95 each Many other retailers sell the 20 round boxes for close to that price. Worth considering Gold Dot, it is legal to use at the home or at the range in NJ. The problem I find with ammoseek is that a number of the more common places are not listed. I typical find SGAmmo, AmmunitionToGo, TargetSportsUSA and Natchez Shooters Supplies consistently offer good pricing. I just check which is cheaper for what I am after - and then just check on AmmoSeek if anyone can beat it. TheWombat

I did a post on this back around 12 months ago I think - I came up with a design for home made target boxes that worked ok. The thread was called something like 'home range'. Not perfect but may give you some ideas. TheWombat

2013 Annual of Guns and Ammo Handguns (the one with 3 new pistols on the front with a display under December 3rd, 2012) has a pretty interesting article covering Bullet Setback in Autopistols starting at page 94. They take some common rounds such as Remington JHP (R9mm1), Corbon JHP, CCI TMJ, Speed GD etc etc etc etc in 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP and run up to 30 feeds of a round to measure setback. Sound rounds exhibited 0" setback, others experienced fairly significant setback. They also state that it may not just be a particular brand, but more down to an individual batch or round that could exhibit more or less setback. Their recommendation they give is to put the round you cycle into a separate container/box and take the container/box to the round once every month or two and fire the cycled rounds. This may or may not work for you depending how often you are chambering rounds. The article is worth a read. TheWombat

I plan to also be there (with a Sig P226 9mm) TheWombat

I've had the NRA Basic Pistol with NJ Firearms Academy and was NOTimpressed. you can see my post in the training section of theforum from about a year ago. While it may cost a bit more I'd recommend somewhere like GunForHire, ShootNJ or another facility. The range they use at NJ Firearms Academy is far from great and the actual course at the time I attended was poorly taught. HTH theWombat