Shooting Tips & How-To

Hop up your Glock for $20! Change your safety plunger!

Glocks are loved and hated for their tune-ability. Owners are constantly in pursuit of that promised “Perfection”. Fortunately, there is more than enough after-market available to build a complete Glock without using any Glock parts. Some of those parts can be a bit pricey for the layman but that’s not true about all. One part that is often overlooked is the safety plunger.

The safety plunger is one of the first friction points the shooter feels while pulling the trigger. As the trigger comes rearward, the trigger bar rubs against and lifts the safety plunger. This little part has friction against the trigger bar, friction against the slide, gravity, and a spring all playing a role. Owners can polish or lubricate the plunger that came in their Glock or purchase an aftermarket option from their favorite vendor.

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These specialty plungers usually retail for around $20 making them one of the least expensive parts to replace and experiment with. In the video below the author removes a worn titanium plunger and replaces it with a polished steel piece from L2D Combat. Don’t expect the plunger to revolutionize your trigger, and pull weight will likely be the same, but the feel is what changes. Initial take-up is made smoother. By smoothing that initial take-up the trigger will feel more like a two-stage with a definitive wall before breaking.

If you haven’t disassembled a Glock slide before worry not, as that is also included in the video below.

Shooting the perfect group: When stars align

We all go to the range with hopes of besting our last time out. What happens when you finally do? Let’s say your significant other shoots an amazing group, then you follow suit, and get it all on camera: what do you do then?

It’s what we always dream of, but never seems to happen. What manufacturers always advertise, and yet we can’t ever obtain. For accuracy like that it takes more than good ammunition, rifle, optic, and gear. It requires EVERYTHING to be in sync. Good mental state, good health, good wind, and good lighting. We always chase groupings like this, but rarely are they ever seen. The group seen in the video is rare, but we’ll spell out the ingredients for you.

The rifle was the Midnight Dragon from Doublestar. If you’ve read the linked article you know that it is far from a basic AR, and yet we have done nothing to it. It hasn’t even been properly cleaned! The ammunition was from Nosler. Nosler has been known for their precision for decades, but the ammunition used was their varmint load in 62gr. The rifle was held steady by the Stinger rest from Caldwell. The Stinger has been acclaimed by us before for it’s perfect balance between portability and stability.

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All in, we had the ingredients for a great grouping, but did not expect what we received. In the video above is a grouping achieved with a hot barrel, low lighting, no pause between shots aside from target alignment, and two different shooters splitting the shots. I can’t expect to ever group like this again, but it seems that for once the stars aligned with a little help from Doublestar, Nosler, and Caldwell.

I’ve always paraphrased the US Army’s marksmanship fundamentals to STAB: Steady position, Trigger squeeze, Aiming, and Breathing. All four of course played a major role, but there is no denying that the rifle, ammunition, and rest were part of it.

Navy SEAL shoots with Taran Tactical: Gun setup and shooting techniques for competition

We’ve all seen the Taran Tactical shooting videos with Keanu Reeves training for the John Wick movies which is bad-ass. I’m not usually one to watch videos on competition shooting since that is not my thing, but I have to say the following video held my attention the entire time. Here, Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan takes the time to learn from one of the best in competition shooting. Before they even begin putting rounds down range, they spend half of the time going over the platforms they are shooting as well as some different techniques to get both good hits and faster times.

Taran Butler talks about his Glock 34 setup and why he prefers the Glock over other platforms. Out of the box, he makes two necessary modifications; the sights and the trigger. Watch the following video to learn more.

Former Navy SEAL, CIA contractor, and Weapons and Tactics Instructor Shawn Ryan of Vigilance Elite gives competition shooting a closer look by training with the Legend himself… Multiple world and National Champion, the man who trained Keanu Reeves for the John Wick series along with many other “A” listers, Taran Butler of Taran Tactical Innovations.

*Photo courtesy of Vigilance Elite Youtube channel

Dot Torture: Improving handgun accuracy

n a few recent articles, I’ve covered a number of different shooting drills one can do to improve their shooting speed, accuracy, and target discernment. Today, I’d like to take a more in-depth look at one of them, “dot torture”.

This specific drill was created by David Blinder of Personaldefensetraining.com. It’s an excellent accuracy drill that starts out at three yards and consists of 50 total rounds. Once you are able to get a perfect score, you can either extend your distance or add time hacks to make it more difficult. As it is, many shooters have remarked on how much more difficult it actually is, versus their expectations. Besides simply standing and shooting, dot torture also has weak side shooting, reloads and holster draws. It shouldn’t be the only drill you shoot, but it is an awesome example of benchmark testing to objectively and repeatedly measure your skill growth or atrophy over time.

Good shooting and stay sharp!

-Rex Nanorum

@Rexnanorum

Concealed carry tips with Kyle Lamb

Kyle Lamb is a retired Army Veteran with 21 years of service. In 1991 Kyle got selected for the Army’s Tier 1 Special Operations unit (Delta Force) where he stayed until he retired in 2007. He has seen combat ranging from the Battle of Mogadishu to the current War on Terror. Because of his experience and training that he was exposed to, I listen to what he has to say.

I’ve been a concealed carrier for over 5 years now and my kit has changed and evolved over that time span. With all the gear available today and ‘firearm instructors’ teaching it can be difficult to sift through all the ‘noise’ and learn from a reputable source. Kyle Lamb is one of those guys that I trust and follow. When it comes to concealed carry and your everyday carry, keeping it simple is the way to go. Take some time to watch the following video and take into consideration what Kyle has to say. I’m willing to be you will take something away from his video.

Featured image courtesy of 5.11 Tactical

Range estimation simplified from an Army Delta Operator

Modern-day range estimation has become a lot easier for the common man to accomplish thanks to technology. Most optics these days can be had with range estimation built in, whether that is a spotting scope, scope mounted on your carbine or long gun, or a pair of binos. Back in the day the Marine Corps Scout Snipers would MIL their targets using the mil-dot reticle build into the 10 power Unertl scopes. By using the mil dots and a simple math formula you could determine the range of your target.

Being able to estimate range to a target is a key skill to learn if you’re a long-distance shooter, hunter, or Law Enforcement sniper. But what if that fancy equipment you use to estimate range goes down, gets damaged, or the batteries go dead? Now, what do you do?

The following video will give you the answer to that question. Former Army Delta Operator John McPhee shows how to judge the distance to your target (out to 600 yards) using only your own two eyes.

Featured image courtesy of army.mil