We've all probably shot ammunition at times, that was inexpensive, cheaply made, re-manufactured, or whatever. I certainly have throughout my life. Still do! I still use inexpensive ammo when I shoot USPSA matches. Full disclosure, my primary EDC pistol is not the same as the pistol I was using for USPSA. That in itself is not unusual either. Guys that use race guns out there, obviously aren't carrying those pistols EDC. But the merits of using your primary EDC weapon versus a comp. gun at matches is for another discussion.
I want to share an incident that will help anyone that may not know as much about pistol functionality or ammo/firearm relationships and how important that synergy can be.
Recently, I was performing an exercise with my EDC Primary (Glock 19 Gen 4), known as, "moving off the x, and shooting (at the assailant), on the run." I was using some inexpensive re-manufactured 110 gr cartridges from a place called Delta Precision. After all, ammo is expensive when you are just throwing lead around for hours. Likewise, if you don't reload, competition eats up ammo too. Have family that shoots too, you betcha; more ammo needed. So we all know it can be expensive.
On this day and on this drill, I drew and shot once from from full draw as I was preparing my escape. The idea of the drill is to continue to fire at the threat while creating distance and to improve accuracy in doing so. As I took my first step I fired again, and there was only crickets! My gun had misfired. Reset, and tried again. First shot fine, second shot ok, third; more crickets. This continued and had me semi-perplexed. The gun was clean, and in great working order. What the hell was going wrong? I could stand still and fire through a full magazine one after another without fail. Even in competition, those same cartridges (in another pistol), worked fine. The only difference? Running versus standing still.
I had a shooting buddy with me that day and he was performing the same drill with no issues?!? He was using an old Browning 9mm. He was using different ammo too. Magtech 115g in the blue box. We exchanged ammo, I revisited the drill and no issues. Not a single hitch. What I first suspected was a pistol issue indeed turned out to be an ammo issue. But why? After all, the ammo worked fine in both pistols while line firing?!? And any other pistols for that matter.
I turned to a tried and true method to find out why; I called Glock in Smyrna and asked to speak to a gun guru. His name was Dan. Here is the gist of our conversation. I related the above story to him. He offered a few observations that I found interesting. On the line firing versus running, he told me that when line firing, a stiff two hand hold on the pistol makes a big difference on the action of a cartridge to fully reset the slide and the next round. Even with less powerful loads. The cheaper rounds are surely less powerful than factory rounds, and the subtle difference between a firm two hand grip and my running shooting with one hand would make a difference. Those Magtechs were certainly much more powerful loads than what I had. He admitted that over time, I could get better with the firmness of the one hand grip, and could most likely use the cheaper rounds, but he asked why do that? He said what I knew was coming next; are these the same rounds that are currently in your weapon now? Of course not, I said. These are for farting around and wasting ammo with. He asked the next question I also knew was coming. Is that is your primary service weapon? Yes, I said. Why train with anything other than what you carry with you? I told him the standard reply, money. These Hornady Critical Defense bullets are almost $1.00 apiece. He understood, but he said the gun obviously runs better in that exercise with a better bullet. And if you are training with that gun to better the scenario of your safety and self defense, well you know what the answer is. And I do!
Without sounding like a dick, I can afford shooting a lot of expensive ammo. But a lot of people can't, and a lot of people don't. If I ran that drill 10 times in one session, that could be as much as 5-10 rounds each time. That could be as much as $100 on just that one drill alone. I don't care how much money you have, that's a lot of Hornady Critical Defense bullets. Nonetheless, if you are going to commit to your prevailing an armed conflict, you have to consider this story.
We already know that certain guns like certain ammo. We know that we should try to simulate training to match what we EDC. All of us know how expensive all this can be! But in the end, we need to bite the bullet! Train with what you are carrying, and use the ammo you will use if that unfortunate day ever comes. Your life may likely depend on it.
That night I ordered 20 boxes of Hornady Critical Defense For? You guessed it!
I hope this helps some of you out there!
I want to share an incident that will help anyone that may not know as much about pistol functionality or ammo/firearm relationships and how important that synergy can be.
Recently, I was performing an exercise with my EDC Primary (Glock 19 Gen 4), known as, "moving off the x, and shooting (at the assailant), on the run." I was using some inexpensive re-manufactured 110 gr cartridges from a place called Delta Precision. After all, ammo is expensive when you are just throwing lead around for hours. Likewise, if you don't reload, competition eats up ammo too. Have family that shoots too, you betcha; more ammo needed. So we all know it can be expensive.
On this day and on this drill, I drew and shot once from from full draw as I was preparing my escape. The idea of the drill is to continue to fire at the threat while creating distance and to improve accuracy in doing so. As I took my first step I fired again, and there was only crickets! My gun had misfired. Reset, and tried again. First shot fine, second shot ok, third; more crickets. This continued and had me semi-perplexed. The gun was clean, and in great working order. What the hell was going wrong? I could stand still and fire through a full magazine one after another without fail. Even in competition, those same cartridges (in another pistol), worked fine. The only difference? Running versus standing still.
I had a shooting buddy with me that day and he was performing the same drill with no issues?!? He was using an old Browning 9mm. He was using different ammo too. Magtech 115g in the blue box. We exchanged ammo, I revisited the drill and no issues. Not a single hitch. What I first suspected was a pistol issue indeed turned out to be an ammo issue. But why? After all, the ammo worked fine in both pistols while line firing?!? And any other pistols for that matter.
I turned to a tried and true method to find out why; I called Glock in Smyrna and asked to speak to a gun guru. His name was Dan. Here is the gist of our conversation. I related the above story to him. He offered a few observations that I found interesting. On the line firing versus running, he told me that when line firing, a stiff two hand hold on the pistol makes a big difference on the action of a cartridge to fully reset the slide and the next round. Even with less powerful loads. The cheaper rounds are surely less powerful than factory rounds, and the subtle difference between a firm two hand grip and my running shooting with one hand would make a difference. Those Magtechs were certainly much more powerful loads than what I had. He admitted that over time, I could get better with the firmness of the one hand grip, and could most likely use the cheaper rounds, but he asked why do that? He said what I knew was coming next; are these the same rounds that are currently in your weapon now? Of course not, I said. These are for farting around and wasting ammo with. He asked the next question I also knew was coming. Is that is your primary service weapon? Yes, I said. Why train with anything other than what you carry with you? I told him the standard reply, money. These Hornady Critical Defense bullets are almost $1.00 apiece. He understood, but he said the gun obviously runs better in that exercise with a better bullet. And if you are training with that gun to better the scenario of your safety and self defense, well you know what the answer is. And I do!
Without sounding like a dick, I can afford shooting a lot of expensive ammo. But a lot of people can't, and a lot of people don't. If I ran that drill 10 times in one session, that could be as much as 5-10 rounds each time. That could be as much as $100 on just that one drill alone. I don't care how much money you have, that's a lot of Hornady Critical Defense bullets. Nonetheless, if you are going to commit to your prevailing an armed conflict, you have to consider this story.
We already know that certain guns like certain ammo. We know that we should try to simulate training to match what we EDC. All of us know how expensive all this can be! But in the end, we need to bite the bullet! Train with what you are carrying, and use the ammo you will use if that unfortunate day ever comes. Your life may likely depend on it.
That night I ordered 20 boxes of Hornady Critical Defense For? You guessed it!
I hope this helps some of you out there!
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