Getting ready to train: What to bring.

You have finally decided to get some professional firearm training. You pay your deposit and are waiting for the day to come.  Here is what you should bring.

Check out the school's website. 

They will have a page listing the things you need to bring. Some of the things you may think you won't need, but it is on the list for a reason.

Guns

Make sure your gun is in good working order.  Clean and lube it before you go.

It is a good idea to bring a spare gun if you can.  If you don't have a spare gun, bring along some spare parts of the things that may normally break.  Training tends to put more stress on guns and gear than just plinking at the range.  A cleaning kit and lube would be a good idea as well.

If you are not able to bring a spare gun, the instructor may have back ups, although it will probably have a fee attached.

Ammo

Usually the listed round count for the class is the minimum you will shoot. You should bring at least a couple hundred rounds more than what is listed.  Some people say to bring 500 more, others say to double the recommended amount.

One other thing I do is pour all of my ammo out into an ammo can. You don't have to mess with a bunch of boxes and trays and there isn't any trash to keep up with. 

Eye and ear protection

You should bring some dark glasses, and some clear or yellow shooting glasses as well. 

You should really invest in electronic ear protection if you can afford it. These are ear muffs with microphones that let you hear what the instructor and other students are saying, and then automatically shut off when you shoot. It is so much easier than trying to hear through regular muffs or constantly putting your ear pro on and off. I use the Peltor 6S and they have worked well for me. Be sure to bring extra batteries. 

Magazines 

Most classes will list you need at least 2 or 3 magazines. I like to bring as many as I can. Reloading mags all day is a necessary part of the deal but I like to minimize it as much as possible. The less you have to stuff ammo in mags the better you can be paying attention to what the instructor is saying. 

I will have all of my magazines except for 2 loaded before I get there. I leave the 2 unloaded for the dry fire work at the beginning of class. If you are training with somebody you haven't worked with before it is a good idea to contact them via phone or email and make sure having your mags loaded before hand is ok.  You will probably want your gun to be unloaded when you arrive unless you have information otherwise.

You may also want to invest in a magazine loader such as those made by Uplula if you are going to a high round count course, or just aren't used to repeatedly loading mags with your thumb.

Holster, mag pouches, belt, etc.

Training is a great way to test out gear!  You get to see what works well, what works ok, and what you should probably replace.  You want to bring quality gear.

Your holster should be of a design that stays open at the top to ease reholstering.  You will be drawing and holstering a lot during the class and you don't want to be fumbling with the holster the entire time.  I personally like kydex holsters, but a good quality leather holster with a reinforced mouth works as well.  Another consideration with IWB holsters is the holster should be big enough to cover the entire barrel of the pistol.  Minimalist holsters have become popular for concealed carry but tend to be bad for training because the barrel and slide of your gun will become hot from firing a lot.  You don't want to burn your leg(or worse if you carry appendix IWB like I do!) from sticking a hot gun inside your pants with nothing covering it. 

Your belt, mag pouches, and any other gear used during class should be of high enough quality to not hinder you.  You want to be learning, and practicing all day, not fiddling with your gear.  Bringing a spare holster or two isn't a bad idea as well.

I am a firm believer that you should train how you carry.  But, if your EDC is a little .380 you carry in your pocket, you may want to bring another rig more suited to training.  Learning the fundamentals is the same with a full size duty gun as with a small pocket pistol.  If you go down this road, bring your EDC gear too and run at least a few drills with that setup.  Your instructor may have some tips for your specific method of carry as well, don't be afraid to ask.

One thing that recurred throughout this article is the need for spares.  You should bring spares for pretty much everything feasible.  Training is hard on gear, which is good.  If it is going to fail I would sure rather it happen during a controlled class than in some violent encounter on the street!  But at the same time, you don't want to have to sit the rest of the class out because your gun or a piece of your gear broke.


Again, the school's website should have a list of everything you need to bring.  I wanted to expand of some of the more important things and throw a few tips in there as well.  I hope you found this post helpful.  Feel free to leave comments or suggestions.  You can also contact me by the link at the top of the page if you have any questions I would be glad to help. 

Cool Old Guns 2: H&R 733 .32 S&W Long Revolver

I recently picked up a little H&R .32 S&W Long revolver for practically nothing.  It is a 6 shot nickel revolver, model 733. This model was made from 1961 until 1986. H&Rs don't have the fit and finish of a Smith & Wesson or Colt but it isn't a bad little gun.

This one has some pitting and the nickel is pretty much gone from the cylinder. It is actually in better condition than the first picture I saw of it. 

I could only find 20 rounds for it locally. They are 85 grain hollow points from Hornady loaded by a small local outfit. I decided to go ahead and shoot 14 of them and keep the last 6 until I can pick up some more. 

This is the first six shots:

That's probably about 4 inches or so, and I wasn't trying to be super precise or anything. I was mostly just wanting to make sure it was going to function correctly.

Size comparison for the .32 S&W Long round:

.22 lr, .32 S&W Long, 9mm Luger, .44 mag, .223/5.56x45

Overall it's a pretty cool little old gun. Guns like this are fun to shoot if not useful for much. I wouldn't use it for home defense or concealed carry, but I wouldn't want to be shot by it either. 

~TattooedGunner

Started work on our tactical range.

Me and my brother started building our own range a few days ago.  We are going to build multiple target stands and different cover/concealment areas.  All will be able to be moved so we can set up multiple stages, similar to IDPA or IPSC.  This will be a great way to better our shooting skills, and just enjoy some time shooting.

The cool thing is, all of this was made from materials scavenged from work and other places, so total cost for this is whatever the nails cost.  That leaves more money for ammo!  Now if I could just find some...

 This is what we have so far:

Target Stands:

These are overbuilt as heck, but we plan on using them for a while so that's a good thing.  I got the dimensions for IDPA targets off the internet and cut several out of scrap cardboard slip sheets. 

Cover/Concealment wall: 

These can be used with the window or just as a wall.

This is one of the target stands set up.  We were using it for the extremely tactical role of sighting in Jesse's .22 mag.

Here is a video of everything set up:

This is just a start, we are going to build a lot more stuff as we get time.  I want to get some steel targets to add as well.

Thanks for checking it out, and don't forget to like Tattooed Gunner on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TattooedGunner

~Tattooed Gunner

My tattoos.

I have five tattoos.  They range from crappy to really good.  It took me awhile before I found an artist I really liked that does great work.

Pictures are posted in order that I got them.  Leave a comment and tell me what you think!

1. Dragon

This was my first tattoo.  I was 18 and just went to a local shop and picked something off the wall.  This tattoo is on my upper left arm.

2. Rattlesnake

Second tattoo.  Saw one similar to this in a tattoo magazine while I was at the shop when my stepdad was getting a coverup done.  This took about 6 hours to do, all in one sitting.  It really needs to be re-done or covered up.  Upper right arm.

3. Tribal Dragon

Third tattoo.  This one a good friend of mine did.  It was either the 2nd or 3rd tattoo he ever done.  Will eventually be covered up by a Space themed half sleeve with stars and planets and aliens and stuff.  Located on lower right leg.  He still does tattoos, and has gotten a lot better.

4. Wizard

Fourth tattoo.  I had this one done in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  My first color tattoo.  I recently had it reworked by my current artist.  It wasn't horrible, but some of the lines didn't line up, and the color wasn't blended very well.  Oddly enough, this is the tattoo that most people say is their favorite of mine.

What it looked like when I got it:

 

After I had it reworked:

5. Mad Scientist

My favorite by far.  I love this tattoo.  This took 3 sessions.  About 9 hours total, including doing the design.  This design was never on paper, and was a collaboration of two artists.  "Nails" drew the design on my arm with sharpie markers and started the line work, and Wes Lingerfelt did the rest.  Nails was supposed to do some more of the work but when I went back for my second session he was working on a huge backpiece.  This was done at Eternal Expressions in Rome, Georgia.  I completely recommend this shop for anybody wanting to get anything done in the area.  Wes and the guys do good work.  Check out their facebook page here.

I really need some better pictures.

This picture was taken right after the second session, all of the tattoo was done except for some stuff on the sides and at the top.  Really shows the tattoo better:

And just the line work:

All in all, I love my work.  Some of them are pretty crappy but I still like them. Thanks for checking out my ink.  Check me out on facebook at www.facebook.com/TattooedGunner