ShadowCatcher

It would be a damn shame to retire this airplane, but I understand that it is not as sexy looking as the F-35, so the silk scarf force is understandably arguing to eliminate it. The SEAD mission is difficult and risky, thus the emphasis on developing UCAV's to swarm and destroy these sites, and once they're ready to utilize in combat the reduction of threat to the Helicopters and A-10 will be welcome. I suspect that the A-10 will continue to prove itself over and over, and as new technologies emerge it will continue to be a formidable opponent, as the B-52 does now. SC

Agreed 100%. My point about the head shot and ammo carrier / vests / explosives was really more for the "Church Shooter", "Movie Theater" or "night club" scenario where you have an active shooter in a crowd, and have sufficient time to assess and then act. It also offers the advantage that if you crouch even slightly you usually have a climbing bullet trajectory when it impacts, so if it over penetrates it is unlikely to go into the crowd, but rather up and over. When it's a F2F confrontation and you have to act 'now' to stop the threat to yourself then you do what is reliant on using gross motor skills. That's when multiple shots to CoM and then shift to Head makes sense. Probably one of the few times when vertical stringing is useful rather than a bad habit. Stay safe, SC

Most people loosen their grip by the time the third shot is fired. Some also have trouble acquiring a new sight picture and settling down on it before pushing the trigger. Sykes, Fairbairn, Applegate and a few others who were teaching point shooting back in the real old days noted this behavior as part of their training regimen. Try again and make a serious concerted effort to maintain a hard grip and confirm sight picture for the third shot and see what happens.

A few other things to consider - putting a shot into the chest may be the wrong move when someone is wearing body armor or worse yet explosives. Even if it's not commercial armor, a chest carrier full of AK or AR magazines can stop a handgun round. If there is any reason to suspect that there is a vest, stabilizing your shooting platform and doing a precision shot to the head is much more effective and quicker. Head shots are difficult as the head moves a lot, the skull is fairly round and it is wet, so it has some give; bullets are likely to deflect if not square on - requiring well placed shots into the eye sockets, nose cavity or mouth, or the ear from the side. Shots into the pelvic girdle are very effective at putting someone on the ground, as well as guaranteeing that they will spend the rest of their life with a colostomy bag, but it doesn't guarantee that they will stop shooting at you from the ground. If you're drunk/doped enough to be feeling no pain or are raging, stuff's going to keep happening. In a similar vein to ALPO's comment about "train like you fight, fight like you train", we do not do El Presidentes anymore because it is tactically unsound to engage multiple targets that way. Instead we have each person shoot 1,2,3 and then repeat going 3,2,1 so that you have hit each opponent as fast as possible at least once. Many shooters are 4-5 seconds into the exchange by the time they draw then shoot the first two targets, by which time the 3rd tgt has put 2 or 3 into you. There's no best answer, but there are some that are worse than others. Stay safe, SC

The Colt's in .45 are ready to rock, but any 1911 can have it's trigger improved a bit and the sights made more visible over stock configuration, if you want. If I was looking for a carry Gov't model (with optional Wild Bunch) this would do quite well. Colt uses a pencil barrel on their 9mm versions, which I dislike and replace with a Clark Match barrel right away. Clean up the existing fire control parts and it's ready to go. You can pay more, or spend more after the fact, but a box-stock 1911 from Colt is a really fine self defense pistol, and it improves with use. The cheaper made guns will require more money anyway, unless you want them to throw in your tackle box for fishing on the river side. just my $0.02 worth . . . SC

Concealed carry with a 1911 or Beretta 92 Compact takes some effort and a selection of holsters, but that's what I do. In order to accommodate that in the high summer I switch to a Glock 43. I switched bask to larger pistols after finding that my tired old eyes really hate a small gun and I struggle with a RDO on guns. 9-10 months of the year I can dress to conceal a full size gun. Very rarely do I open carry as I do not want to give up my only advantage, being concealed. Since the bad guy(s) have the advantage of initiating the event, the least I can do is regain some advantage by carrying concealed. I don't worry about occasionally "flashing" if I am reaching for a top shelf item in the store, I just wait around for a mostly empty aisle, or pinch my jacket tighter. I've been to the farmers markets and other public events where someone carries open, I make it a point to stay away from them, they draw a lot of eyes and even some reactions; by being away from them I find myself away from the center of everyone else's attention - enhanced concealment by distraction and misdirection. SC

On Wiki they state the typical load-out as 1150 rounds, cyclic rate of 3900 rounds/minute (about 18 seconds full burst), and a barrel life of over 20K rounds. The standard ammunition mixture for anti-armor use is a five-to-one mix of PGU-14/B Armor Piercing Incendiary, with a projectile weight of about 14.0 oz (395 grams or 6,096 grains) and PGU-13/B High Explosive Incendiary (HEI) rounds, with a projectile weight of about 13.3 oz (378 grams or 5,833 grains).[10] The PGU-14/B's projectile incorporates a lightweight aluminum body, cast around a smaller caliber depleted uranium penetrating core.

The A-10 Thunderbolt II, also known as the Warthog, is a twin-engine aircraft that provides close-air support of ground forces and employs a wide variety of conventional munitions including general purpose bombs. The simple, effective and survivable single-seat aircraft can be used against all ground targets, including tanks and other armored vehicles. Modernization and the Wing Replacement Program Boeing is under contract to manage production of a maximum of 112 wing sets and spare kits. The U.S. Air Force has ordered 44 wing sets since the contract award. Under a previous contract, Boeing delivered 173 wing sets to the Air Force. The upgraded wings are more durable, efficient, and easier to maintain.

Fell in love with the Ruger Super Blackhawk back in the 70's and would love to have one now, cut to 6" and Magna-ported. The Freedom Arms guns are excellent, but the Bisley style grip seems a little harder on my hands than the Ruger plow handles. SC

Damn! Sorry to read this, but thanks for posting it. It must have been longer ago than I thought - losing track of my memory too! Damn! SC

I know about Bob Munden passing, he did two of my Rugers way back. Eddie is still around, I talked to him a few months ago. Seems like I better call down there soon, too many folks seem to think he did indeed pass away. SC

Contact Eddie Janis at Peacemaker Specialists. He's worked over several of my Colt's for me and is a genius at what he does. Given that these are not collectors pieces he could probably do a complete makeover for you, which might cost more than the cost of a NIB Colt, but frankly will be a better pistol than it was when it was made. At some point I want to make a BBQ gun, and he's the guy I'll go through. http://www.peacemakerspecialists.com/1st-generation-parts/ SC

As for shooting them, you won't notice it in the general run of targets we shoot at. If you were shooting at charcoal briquets at 25 yds you might want a longer barreled pistol for that. I use a 7 1/2 inch and a 4 3/4 inch pair of Colts, one in a cross draw, because I like them. I do have two shorter ones when I want to wear a two gun rig that way though. SC

It would depend on your intended application. For me suppressing the 5.56 is hardly worth it, and the .300 loads are much more capable at subsonic velocities, at least for taking thin skinned targets. Might want to look at Wilson's .300 Ham'r as well. As for AR bans, if they ban them then a SBR on a AR platform will likely be in the same cattle car. SC

Saw that, and also noticed that the wear mark on your belt shows you're wearing it one notch looser than previous. Must be from carrying IWB. SC