Top Shot 3 is right around the corner, premiering on Tuesday, August 9th at 10/9c. Even with the somewhat lopsided ratio of drama llama to actual shooting, I’ll be watching (and hoping the drama llama goes on hiatus for season 3). I’ve already got my favorite shooter picked out for the season – Sara Ahrens. I had the pleasure of co-manning the WOMA booth at SHOT Show this year with her, and she is funny, beautiful and knows how to shoot. I will be looking forward to watching her kick some tail this season.
If you’re not familiar with Top Shot Season 3’s cast of characters, here’s the “exclusive” cast intro video:
In other exciting news, we will be having a Top Shot contest with some great prizes, courtesy of the fine folks at the History Channel. As they say in the TV business, stay tuned for details!
I also wanted to take a minute to give a big thanks to all of you (including the Top Shot producers) who provided me with awesome support over the last couple of months as I made my way through the application process for Top Shot Season 4. Sadly, I did not make the cut, but no worries – I will be back with bells on (and some bigger wins under my belt) when next season’s application comes out.
I’m a bit skeptical about the claim that recreational and sport shooters have surpassed golfers here (golf has been ginormous in Arizona forever), but it’s still great news.
I’d also like to give kudos to KPHO for doing a straight story on the shooting sports in Arizona, and foregoing the liberal slanted, pants-peeing that we see so often in MSM stories about guns and/or the shooting sports. Oh, and KPHO? Here’s a tip – just because someone answers a question you posted on Facebook, doesn’t mean you have to put it on the news.
I’ve previously written about shooting the Springfield XDm 5.25 Competition model and posted a video of Rob Leatham shooting the new pistol. Check out his DrillMaster instructional video to see the gun in action and learn his approach to shooting faster. The Great One shows you how to go fast using the new XDm.
FTC Disclaimer – Mr. Leatham and Springfield Armory allowed me to shoot some free ammo through the XDm 5.25 once upon a time. Springfield Armory has a website where you too can find out where to shoot the new XDm 5.25. As noted in my prior post, I’ve placed an order through Arizona Firearms and Pawn at regular retail. If this doesn’t meet your disclosure compliance standards, please feel free to lower your standards.
Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association (ASRPA) held their annual meeting and dinner Saturday, May 7th, in Phoenix and featured Mr. Otis McDonald, of McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court case fame, as the keynote speaker. ASRPA is the Arizona affiliate of the NRA, (essentially the Arizona arm of NRA) overseeing competitive shooting, training of juniors, and other firearms related issues in Arizona since 1909. Motivational Speaker Beth Terry was an exemplary emcee for the evening, along with ASRPA President, Noble Hathaway. Noble’s lovely daughters, Ashley, Andrea, and Payne graciously assisted with the event and the fundraising raffles that were held throughout the evening.
Sandy Froman presents NRA 100 Years of Excellence Award
During the dinner, past NRA President Sandy Froman formally presented ASRPA with the 100 Years of Excellence award from the NRA. Mr. Hathaway was joined on stage by several past presidents of ASRPA to receive the award from Ms. Froman.
One of a kind Colt Single Action Army Pistol.
ASPRA President Noble Hathaway thanked the state legislators in attendance at the dinner for their part in making the Colt Single Action Army pattern pistol the official State Firearm of Arizona. He also apologized for the minor controversy they endured, and explained that the intent of the state firearm was only to help celebrate Arizona’s statehood Centennial in 2012.
Colt SAA Presentation to the lucky raffle winner by Rep. Judy Burges, Gary Christiansen, Rep. Carl Seel, Rep. Steve Court, Rep. Jerry Weiers, and Todd Rathner.
The highlight of the evening was Mr. Otis McDonald’s very heartfelt and humble explanation of his journey to the Supreme Court. His story is one of a man who tried to make a positive difference in his neighborhood. He worked to get kids off the street and away from crime, but as his neighborhood declined and some of neighborhood kids turned to crime, Chicago banned handgun ownership. The Chicago ban left law-abiding citizens defenseless and vulnerable to criminals who defied the gun bans and terrorized the innocent. Mr. McDonald explained how he wasn’t trying to change the world, he was just standing up for what he felt was right.
I once heard Ken Blackwell say something to the effect that the Declaration of Independence states, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident’ as the Founders way of saying, ‘Any knucklehead should be able to understand this.’
Unfortunately, the knuckleheads in Chicago did not understand these truths. In passing the handgun ban in 1982, Chicago enabled the jewelry theft ring run by Chicago Police chief of detectives William Hanhardt, and the mob, ensuring the safety of the thieves. Hanhardt’s jewelry ring stole millions in the 1980s and 1990s, unopposed by their disarmed victims. The gun ban should have been named the Occupational Safety for Criminals Gun Ban. Mr. McDonald’s case was supported by an amicus curiae brief signed by 58 senators and 251 representatives, with more members of Congress signing than any amicus curiae brief in history.
Otis McDonald at the 102nd Annual ASRPA Dinner
He appeared surprised that people in a state with a Brady Campaign score of Zero would be so grateful for his efforts, but we understand how much he has done for securing our right to bear arms. The Supreme Court’s ruling will have a positive affect on gun laws and legislation for decades. Mr. McDonald appears to still be processing the full significance of his victory at the Supreme Court, where the court ruled that the Second Amendment protects the right of the individual to keep and bear arms.
Mr. McDonald acknowledged that this was just the beginning in the battle to restore even the most basic gun rights in the Chicago area, but he emphasized the role of the individual in determining the future. Throughout his talk, he spoke highly of his lawyer Alan Gura and of Alan Gottlieb, both of the Second Amendment Foundation and the enduring support of the Illinois State Rifle Association.
Otis McDonald Master Sponsors
It is amazing that ASRPA could persuade Mr. McDonald to speak to our group, and it was an honor for everyone in attendance to hear his story. It is rare to hear a victorious story of a hard fought battle to win such an important case. A case that signifies the first major national gun rights case the Supreme Court has heard since 1939’s United States v. Miller. Mr. McDonald’s message was clear – ordinary people can accomplish the extraordinary, just by following through on their beliefs and trying to make their part of the world a better place.
Otis McDonald Master Donor Medal – 102nd Annual Meeting of ASRPA 2011
I would also like to express my appreciation to the many members of AZCDL and the Arizona Game and Fish Department for their tireless support of the shooting sports in Arizona.
We got a chance to shoot the new Springfield XDm 5.25 Competition series 9mm on Saturday. Legendary Team Springfield Armory shooter Rob Leatham and his wife, Kippi Leatham, a fellow Team Springfield shooter, invited people out to shoot the new XDm Competition series pistol at Rio Salado Sportsman’s Club.
The short review
It is an excellent gun for competition!
The longer review
The Springfield XDm 5.25 Competition is based on a wishlist Rob Leatham gave to Springfield Armory a few years ago. The 9mm XDm Competition series starts with the current XDm lower, complete with a match trigger and interchangable backstraps which allow you to adjust the grip size to fit your hand.
The upper part of the new XDm is where the real changes have been made. This pistol features a 5.25″ match grade barrel, extending the sight radius to 7 1/4″ for a more precise sight alignment, while reducing the recoil. The extended barrel and slide gives the pistol an 8.3″ overall length.
The extended slide features a lightening slot to keep the weight the same as the shorter, non-competition XDm at 29 ounces. The Springfield XDm 5.25 Competition also has a low profile adjustable rear site and a fiber optic front sight.
The gun is built to be legal for competition in USPSA and IDPA shooting. Production Division approval is expected after at least 2,000 guns are built (hopefully in the next month), in time for the USPSA Nationals.
The Trigger
Mr. Leatham brought out two stock XDm 5.25 Competition pistols, and one with a Springfield factory trigger job. While the trigger job resulted in a much lighter trigger pull, the stock triggers were fine and had a medium pull, a clean break, and a consistent reset. The pull and reset are excellent compared to other polymer guns (I’m spoiled by a nice 1911), and was a noticable improvement over the standard XD trigger.
Shooting the XDm 5.25 Competition
TGO (The Great One, Rob Leatham’s nickname) brought the ammo and let us shoot as many 19 round mags as we wanted to, with only one restriction. He doesn’t load magazines for anyone else. That seemed reasonable, so we stuck around to shoot the steel plates that made up the Springfield Challenge stage.
The stage had steel plate targets, so while group measurements weren’t possible, the accuracy of the pistol was apparent. Shooting quickly at a 6″ swinging Hostage Target Head plate at about 10 yards demonstrated the improved recoil control and sight radius that make this a formidable pistol for competition.
Just in case there was any question on the new pistol’s accuracy, Rob Leatham’s Mother placed a dead center hit on each of the plates.
Conclusion
It is safe to say that I liked the Springfield XDm 5.25 Competition. The gun sights easily, the trigger is good, and the accuracy is great. In fact, I’ll be contacting Arizona Firearms and Pawn this week to order a two-tone XDm 5.25 Competition and see if they’ll accept a partial trade for an XD-9.
Out with the old, in with the new
UPDATE: A distributor has relayed that the XDm 5.25 Competition in black has an MSRP of $799 and the bi-tone model has an MSRP of $869, with gun store prices around $100 lower.
UPDATE 9/17/2012: XDm Reliability report for my XDm 5.25 – I now have over 5,862 rounds through the gun without any mechanical failures. One failure to eject (FTE) occurred at around 3,410 rounds when using beatup reloads. A failure to feed happened after about 4,490 rounds due to a bulged case, and at 5,282 due to a short cartridge.
There’s been some interwebs chatter about the Ammo waitresses provided by LuckyGunner.com at their 2011 Memorial Day Weekend Blogger Shoot last weekend. Since I was there, and I have lady parts, I believe I am Uniquely Qualified™ to put my two cents in about this contrived kerfuffle.
A fellow female gun blogger (who was not present at the event) recently took some shots at LuckyGunner and the ammo waitresses they provided us. Said blogger likened the young ladies to booth babes, opined that LuckyGunner created an “optics problem” by including the attractive ammo ladies as part of the event, and then speculated that these ladies are a deterrent to attracting women to the shooting sports.
Hogwash!
The only thing I’ve seen relating to this event that might discourage a woman from learning to shoot has been uninformed commentary from another blogger that couldn’t possibly have come to their conclusion if they had attended the shoot.
Since I started shooting two years ago, I’ve attended two Babes With Bullets camps and several classes and practices with HerHandgun here in Arizona, where I’ve listened to upwards of 70 ladies tell their story about how and why they started shooting. Not once have I heard a story of reluctance to learn to shoot because of good-ol-boys, booth babes or women dressed in sleeveless polo shirts and skorts. The overwhelming majority of these women cited intimidation of firearms (ranging from generalized fear to downright phobia), a lack of confidence (think the opposite of empowered) and physical issues that they thought would impede their use of a firearm.
The three ladies that assisted us with our ammo needs were no different. I overheard one of the girls say that she had never shot before, and she was considering taking the plunge. I was so glad to see that they not only took the plunge, they did it with some of the most intimidating and rare weapons around (you rock, ladies!). I can see why someone might be a bit jealous that they missed out on shooting these fine firearms, I know my shooty friends were.
The LuckyGunner ammo girls were an asset to the event and I am most appreciative of their hard work, dedication and professionalism at the Blogger Shoot. They spent the better part of two days schlepping ammo up and down hills, across the approximately 150 yard wide firing line in heat and humidity so high it should be illegal. I know I couldn’t have done it (my lawn – you. off. now.), and I am very grateful that they were there to enhance the already epic experience.
LuckyGunner.com is honoring the best gun bloggers on the internet and they want your help choosing the winners! Go to the Gunnie Awards page to vote for your favorites.
Again, this is a partial list, you’ll have to go to the Gunnie Awards page to see the rest of the nominees and cast your votes.
Get your vote in by Friday, May 27th, 2011. The winners will be announced & presented with their 30mm replica round trophy from Technoframes on Saturday night, May 28th at the LuckyGunner.com Blogger Shoot held in Knoxville, TN this Memorial Day Weekend.
