Notes on Last Weekend’s Revolver/Shotgun Training Classes

 

If I wanted to write in depth about all the issues I saw in both classes, it would be a 10,000 word article that no one would actually read.  Instead, I  will summarize some of the issues I saw in a highlighted “Cliff-Notes” format rather than developing each idea over multiple paragraphs.  If you need more details, come to a class.  I have plenty of available classes and will be teaching regularly all over the nation next year.

 

 

Here are my thoughts on the weekend’s training, focusing on guns, gear, and tactical issues I identified with my students.  I didn’t take notes.  This is just from memory.  I might have the gun numbers slightly wrong and probably forgot one or two, but the estimates are very close.

 

 

 

 

 

The guns:  About half the class had Beretta 1301s.  A lot of those were the Langdon or Tactical models.  We had a couple of 870s, a Rock Island Arsenal semi auto, a few Benellis, a Winchester SXP, two Mossberg pumps, and a CZ pump.

 

 

 

Gun performance– We had relatively few issues.  All the 1301s and Benellis ran fine.  Any malfunctions I saw with them were from poor lubrication or bad ammo.  I saw one malfunction out of the Rock Island semi-auto, but it did great other than that.  The 870s ran perfectly.  One of the Mossbergs had a problem not feeding shells onto the carrier from the magazine and had to be replaced with a backup shotgun.

 

 

In all my courses Mossberg 590s perform much more consistently than their model 500 brothers.

 

 

The Winchester performed admirably, with no issues.  The CZ pump came installed with a shell limiting plug.  Even with the help of YouTube, we were unable to remove the plug and the student ended up using another shotgun to finish the course.

 

 

Other Issues:  I saw a couple of the Velcro mounted sidesaddle ammo cards fall off during use.  Other than the Aridus version, I’m not a big fan of Velcro shotgun cards for spare ammo.

 

 

Bead sights are consistently harder to use than ghost rings or rifle sights.  They also tend to shoot high.  The two bead sighted shotguns in class put rounds in the neck area when the operator was aiming at the chest at 15 feet.  If you have a bead sight, you may have to bury up to half the bead into the receiver or ventilated rib when shooting.  PATTERN YOUR SHOTGUN!

 

 

We had one Aimpoint optic and a couple Holosuns.  All performed fine for the 150 round class.  No issues at all with optics.

 

 

 

Other Issues:  The biggest problem I saw was people short stroking the pump guns.  We had one gun with a fired shell stuck in the chamber and the student was unable to pump the gun.  That happens at least once in every shotgun class I teach.  It gave me the ability to teach an impromptu class on how to “mortar” a shotgun.  Very few students knew about mortaring.  Look it up online or come take a class if you don’t know how to mortar a shotgun (or AR-15).  It’s a life saving skill to learn.

 

 

 

 

The guns:  It seems like close to half the class had the perfect CCW snub, the S&W 442/642.  We also had a Ruger SP-101, a Taurus 856 (I think), a couple Ruger LCRs, a couple S&W performance center snubs of various configurations, and a S&W 640.  There were a few other steel frame Smith snubbies as well.  I had a few students who didn’t have snub nose revolvers. but still wanted into the class to learn basic revolver skills.  I let them in anyway.  One was shooting a Smith 19 with a 6″ barrel.  Another was shooting a 4″ 686 Performance Center model.

 

 

 

Gun Issues-  One gun (Smith Model 10)  had an aftermarket main spring.  It occasionally gave light primer strikes.  I loaned the student a different gun to finish the class.  I run aftermarket springs in most of my snubs.  If you decide to replace any springs, check the reliability shooting both your preferred practice ammo and your defensive ammo choices.  Different manufacturers use softer or harder primers.  Just because your modified gun works with one brand of ammo doesn’t mean it will work with another.

 

 

One of the Smith 442s had an issue with the trigger return spring.  The trigger wasn’t returning to the forward position.  I loaned the student a different gun to finish the class.

 

Surprisingly, the Taurus ran without a hiccup.

 

Other Issues: Squib loads happen with revolver ammunition far more frequently than with autopistols in my experience.  That’s why in every class I have students shoot a primed cartridge case without powder or projectile during the first drill of the day.  I try to show them what a squib feels and sounds like so that they know to stop shooting and investigate a suspiciously under powered load.

 

That drill paid off in Sunday’s class.  A student had a squib in his 442 and stopped firing.  Sure enough, the bullet was stuck in the barrel.  I had my trusty Monadnock de-Jammer and tried to push the bullet out.  No luck.  The bullet was stuck so badly in the barrel that the students spent more than 30 minutes trying to pound it out with my de-jammer and a heavy hammer.  When the De-Jammer bent, the student moved on to using a steel tent stake to finish the job.

 

The bullet came out.  Unfortunately, the student slightly bent the gun at the barrel/frame interface from all his pounding.  The cylinder wouldn’t close any more.  It’s going back to the factory for repair.  The student was using reloads.  My guess is that the bullet was significantly oversized.

 

 

Since I had to hand out two of my guns as loaners, I used my unicorn S&W 242 for demonstrations.  I love the gun, but hate reloading with HKS speedloaders with that particular gun.  I’ve had good luck with the HKS loaders in other guns on past  occasions.  Although slower than the Safariland Comp III versions or the Jetloader, the HKS has proven reliable over the years.

 

 

For some reason, the HKS loaders just don’t like the set up of the 242’s seven-shot cylinder.  It was difficult to line up the cartridges and turn the knob without losing a round or two with the HKS loaders.

 

When I found that SpeedBeez was making a seven-shot .38 loader, I bought a couple.  I also bought their double speedloader pouch for them.  I used them all day in class.  The speedloaders worked phenomenally.  Much faster than the HKS.  However, I hate their double loader carrier.  During class, my normal motion or walking, running, and teaching caused the speedloaders to dislodge all of their cartridges into the carrier on three different instances between both loaders.

 

I never had that problem with the single loader carrier.  I won’t be carrying the double SpeedBeez carrier anymore.

 

One other problem with reloading devices that I saw was that a single Zeta Six speed strip was out of spec.  A student was trying to load two rounds from the strip into his K-frame snub.  The rounds were spaced too far apart on the strip and it was impossible to load two rounds at a time with the loader.  None of the other students using the brand had any troubles.  I think my student might have found one that was released into the wild with a bad batch.