During the gun show a couple weekends ago, Dawn did some shuffling of her gun collection. She sold the Ruger P95, which although accurate, seemed to be extremely temperamental. You couldn't fire four magazines through the thing without it starting to jam. Giving it a good once-over with oil seemed to help, but it was never reliable. --Certainly it wasn't a gun that you'd want to rely on for any purpose. And it wasn't very fun to shoot on the range after it started to constantly jam after a few magazines. I was sad to see it go because she had been so excited about it initially. But she had something new in mind. . .



Before we tracked down her new gun, she also sold her James Bond gun, the Walther PPK. (Buy this song on Amazon.) She's a huge James Bond fan, and the PPK was in excellent condition, so this sell stunned me. Yet, it had faults as well. She couldn't shoot it without getting a blister on the back of her hand from the snap of the gun. And though I thought she should have kept it if only to sit in the collection, she prefers the Makarov and wanted the funds for something new.

We were surprised how easy and quickly she was able to sell both at the show. So it didn't take long until we standing in line to buy her new baby: a 40S&W caliber Springfield XD (4" Service Model). The Springfield XDs are fantastic guns. And I'm glad she got the .40 caliber too. The 9mm is just a terrible caliber for self defense, and Amir has me sold on the disadvantages of .45 ACP as a slower round. Besides, it says a lot that so many law enforcement departments now use the .40 caliber round.


But I have to say that find discussions of handgun self-defense to be somewhat academic. A shotgun really makes the best home defense weapon. But second, I can't even buy into the idea that guns are generally necessary for home in the first place. The media overplays home invasion stories, in my opinion. And most people probably don't train enough with their guns for them to be an effective tool in a situation where seconds and accuracy matter. A good alarm system and a medium/large sized dog would be far more effective. (But those aren't nearly as sexy as a sleek new handgun are they?)

That being said though, since I've become a familiar and competent shooter, my fear of guns has evaporated. And I must confess to having my own FN Five-seven nearby in case the house is randomly invaded one night by godless communists trying to take away my YouTube. But seriously, instead of being mysterious and frightening, they've become just a tool. Like many things in life (kayaking with a bazillion alligators, rafting on class 5 rapids in Colorado, or just driving down the road) they need to be respected. But with gun safety always in the forefront of my mind, I'm no longer uncomfortable around them. And I have to say that when hiking or kayaking with over five thousand dollars of camera equipment on hand, there is something to be said for being armed.



Dawn and I have been itching to shoot the XD since she bought it. Fate kept us away from the range for a couple weeks, a cruel trick after buying such a beautiful machine. After tonight we can safely say it's a great gun.

For better or worse, I didn't get to shoot it too much today. The rifle range was strangely empty when we arrive, so I was able to immediately start shooting the FN Five-seven. After a hundred rounds of that and a bit of fun with someone's AR-15, I was pretty worn out. And Dawn was in the same boat, having gone through quite a few rounds herself. But being super-wonderful, she saved some rounds for me. I shot just these ten rounds, at 7-yards, before leaving. I'm really impressed with how the gun feels.



I've been wanting a larger caliber gun myself. My interest in shooting has very little to do with self-defense though; I've found that I simply enjoy marksmanship. And in competitions it's typical to shoot both a rimfire (.22) pistol and a larger centerfire pistol. The FN Five-seven is still not allowed in most competitions for whatever reason, so I need something else. And I want something with a little bit of kick just so that I can be comfortable firing anything. It's easy to get used to the feel of the .22 and 5.7. (Though the 5.7 is about as loud as an assault rifle despite having little recoil.) I'm considering the 1911 as an obvious addition to the collection, and something I could use easily at a competition. And the guys at the gun store tonight have me thinking about maybe a custom 1911 by Ed Brown. That won't be something I buy right away, however.

Speaking of the gun store tonight, Dawn bought yet another gun. As I wrote earlier, she's a big fan of the Makarov. (Especially since ammunition is becoming available for them again.) There's something about these old, tapered barreled guns from the old Communist Bloc that she just loves. And in addition to simply being a collector's piece, they shoot great. Apparently (though I didn't realize until tonight), she's been wanting a second to compliment her first and found it tonight. She got a great deal: the grip was in terrible condition, which accounted for the excellent price. But it just so happens that she had a spare grip at home, so that wasn't a problem at all.



The are five countries that manufactured the Makarov. The ones from East Germany are ones that people tend to think of as collectible. Markarov.com has this to say about the East Germany guns:

"The Ernst Thaelman factory in Suhl, Thueringen made what are considered by some to be the finest pre-fall-of-the-Berlin Wall Makarovs. The finish is nice, the fit and machining is of quality you'd expect from a German shop, and they shoot like a dream. Almost all that came into this country had already seen service, so their quality varies by how they were treated by the person who carried them. Nonetheless, most have more holster wear than bore wear. They occasionally still pop up at dealers and at gun shows. If you can get them for a good price, these are the ones to buy."

Both of hers are from East Germany, a '62 'BV' and a '65' FH. And she was a like a little kid at Christmas tonight, gaping over new toys, looking at them both together.

It was a very nice Saturday! (After I took a nap following my all-nighter at work, that is.) Tomorrow we're off to go kayaking or sailing. I can't wait!

I've heard that there are two types of gun people: the ones that like the big slow bullets, and the ones that like little fast bullets.

(On a side note, Dawn says there are two types of people in general: those that divide people into two types, and those that don't.)

I'm a little and fast girl myself (that occasionally divides people into types). That being said, could this be my next gun purchase?

Dawn borrowed her grandfather's 9mm Beretta for the week so that she can practice shooting for her qualifications next week. (They use the Beretta.) She's already qualified, but wants to get a top rating this time around.

I wanted to try it out as well, and fired off a clip. I'm pretty darn happy with the shots. The center grouping below is from 7 yards. That thing can really chew through some paper! (The top left grouping was the Mark II at 15 yards if I recall correctly.)

For whatever reason, the louder "bang" of the 9mm wasn't quite as intimating as it has been in the past. Even after firing a .45 USP and the even louder .38 Special the 9mm still has quite a bit more bang than the .22s, and it has taken a lot of effort to not flinch or anticipate the shots in the past. But today, it was easier. Maybe I'm just getting more comfortable in general.



We'll be at the range a lot over the next week while Dawn practices. I can't believe we have to wait until Wednesday though to get our new guns!

Dawn and I were going to buy a LCD together for Christmas this year, but Tom surprised us with one when I was visiting in Atlanta. That led to quite a bit of deliberation about what to buy each other for Christmas and our birthdays. (Dawn's birthday is also in January.)

What to buy, what to buy...? When Dawn and I go shooting, we always feel like we'd like to have an extra pistol. To be fair, Dawn has many extra pistols including a .38 Special that makes quite a bang when we fire it. But we don't (or didn't) have a 2nd .22 target pistol. Usually we alternate between Dawn's rifle, a Clark custom 10/22 Ruger, and her Ruger .22 Mark II pistol. But then we're in separate rooms and end up renting something if we want to bring Carly along for example.

Well, I've had my eye on a Browning Buck Mark ever since I shot one up in Atlanta with Tom. I liked the feel a little better than the Mark II, though the Mark II is an absolute pleasure to shoot. But did we want a 2nd Mark II?

The don't make the Mark II anymore. Now you're looking a Mark III unless you want something used. Dawn and I spent a LOT of time at the store holding different Brownings and Rugers trying to decide what we preferred. The Mark III feels different than the Mark II, though there is a variant that is very similar. ( And there are plenty of variants of the Buck Mark as well.)

But to make a long store short, this is my new (and first) gun.

I was going to get the variant with a wooden handle and with a fiber optic site (the same that I shot in Atlanta), but when I held this lighter composite model with rubberized grip, it was beside myself. The gun is just wonderful to hold, and this is what Dawn bought for my Christmas/birthday present. ("Thank you Dawn!")

We had such a hard time though deciding between this gun and the other variation, that Dawn decided she wanted the other for herself. We'd been talking about the idea of matching guns for Christmas, but this opportunity for an impulse "coordinating guns" purchase was too much for her to pass up.

Her gun does not have the scope as shown above, but it is the only photo I could find. I absolutely love both of these guns in their own way. Dawn just walked in and said she's going put the rubberized grip on hers as well, which makes me a little sad because the wood really gives this gun a lot of character. But there is no doubt that the rubber grips feel really nice. Her's has the fiber optic site, and is about a pound heavier than mine.

The second Buck ark is not what I bought for her present, however. She decided it was time to own a .9mm gun. Dawn is a Ruger girl and so is now a proud owner of the Ruger P95.


We can't actually get the guns until next week because of the 3-day waiting period, and that is just driving us insane.

We're going to wait until later in the year to buy some targeting scopes for the Buck Marks. We don't want to go overboard on our shopping! But I can't wait to try them out.

--Had fun shooting with Mom and Tom last night. (Dawn and I have been meaning to go, but kayaking and beach-going have been calling too strongly!) I was shooting bullets through the same hole quite a bit last night! Not all the time, of course, but enough to get a little "woo hoo!" high after we left.

Dawn has an older Ruger Mark II that we shoot with, and that I enjoy a lot. I would have rented that last night, but guess what the people in front of us requested? What's worse is that they beat us into the door by just a hair. If only I'd put my shoes on a little faster when we were leaving!

The person behind the counter seemed to know Tom quite well however and got his personal Browning Buckmark 5.5 Target gun out of the car for me. How nice is that!?

I almost want to say that I liked the Browning a little better too. The one I used had florescent sights, which was quite nice. But more importantly, the handle was wood, which I prefer over the metal of the Ruger.

The one thing that I didn't like, and this is probably a deal-killer, is that it jammed on me twice. (I think that's the right term.) I read online later that it seems to be much more particular about ammo than the Ruger.

I've been thinking about buying my own little .22 for range shooting, so I have my eye open for this stuff right now. But then again, when Dawn and I are shooting we usually trade back and forth between her Clark Custom Ruger 10/22 rifle, and the pistol. (That rifle is fun on the 100m range!) So maybe it isn't a big deal, but it would be more fun I think if we were on the same range when we were shooting.

But if I had my own gun, I might not have an excuse to rent my .45 USP when we go to the range. It's really not as fun as a very accurate .22 target pistol, and the ammo cost will kill you, but sometimes it's just fun to say, "Yeah, I can shoot a 45!"