Popular Posts

6/30/2013

Trigger pull and weight, affects and accuracy

By C-Mag

weight of NYPD trigger is heavier than normal Glocks, analysisAs an RSO, I introduce first time shooters to pistols during my quick breakdown of how a gun works when I go over the concepts of single-action and double-action triggers. I usually demonstrate with a .22 revolver and a .22 ruger MKIII and people grasp the concept fairly quickly. What I don't bother getting into with the new shooters is feel and weight of trigger pull, yet this is something that can make or a break a gun which will be used for social work or in competitions. I regularly carry a 1911 with a fairly light 3.5-4 lb. trigger or a Beretta PX4 with a double/single action trigger. While these guns have very different triggers, I practice with them both regularly and am comfortable with each. The focus of this post though is something that I read a few weeks back that blew my mind. Police forces in New York, specifically New York City are issued guns with extra heavy trigger pulls and I want to know why.

6/28/2013

A Girl & A Gun with ArmedCandy in Marietta GA

By Gabby


Yesterday's visit to the newest Georgia chapter of A Girl and A Gun, was a wonderful time. The ladies welcomed me and made me feel at home, as did their home range, Wild West Traders in Marietta GA.

6/27/2013

AR Build in Action - Video

By Gabby

You've been so wonderfully patient and now the time has come...
Here is the AR build in action!



6/26/2013

AR Build diary: Upper Finished!

By Gabby

I've collected the  upper and lower receiver, hand guard, barrel, gas block, and muzzle device; And all the other AR parts needed to build this gun are loaded into the car. Even without incidental parts, (like, sights or a rifle case) I can still head to the gun smith, and bring home a shootable rifle. So, here is the video of  Ron Moon from CJI Guns helping me finish my AR build.

6/26/2013

Wednesday Whatsit

What could this gun shaped object be?

Whatsit Wednesday

6/26/2013

Atlanta Shooting for Gun Nuts

By Gabby for Gun Nuts

Atlanta shoe store robbery shootingThis past weekend there was a shooting in the city of Atlanta in an area called "Little 5 Points". For that area of town, the fact that there was a shooting early on a Saturday morning, isn't all that surprising. However the details of this particular shooting are a bit more complicated than they first appeared. When I first heard the announcement on the radio, the report was: While attempting to hold up a group of people at gun point, a robber was shot and killed by a concealed carry permit holder. The police were satisfied that this was a self defense shooting and the people who were protected by the shooter, were calling him a hero. But this was not the whole story at all.

Read More at Gun Nuts
©2013 ArmedCandy,LLC

6/25/2013

AR Build Diary: Gas System

By Gabby

gas tube and gas block details
A direct impingement gas system is the original design of the AR. This system takes some of the gases released from the firing of a round, and send them back to the bolt in order to eject the spent casing and allow the next round to be chambered. Along with the barrel and bolt carrier group, the AR parts that make up this system are the gas block and the gas tube.

6/24/2013

AR Build Diary: Barrel

By Gabby

barrel profiles for AR15As with each of our AR parts, there are many options for the barrel of your gun. The first factor to consider is the profile or contour.
Lightweight Profile - thin all the way through

Mid weight or Government Profile - thick in the front but thin under the hand guard

Bull or Heavy weight Profile - exactly as it sounds

What must be considered is that weight gets worse the longer you are shooting but thin barrels may have less accuracy and a shorter service life. Add to that dilemma, that a longer barrel will automatically be heavier than a shorter one, but accuracy is improved with length. It has also been reasoned that a shorter barrels can be easier for shooters who need to move around in tight spaces.

6/24/2013

Dealing with Questions... for Gun Nuts

By Gabby for Gun Nuts

gun questions As we know, I like to make life difficult for myself. I, therefore, often mix with a non-gun loving set and conduct casual gun related conversations. By doing this, I find some great content, but I also find the most some very confused folks. We've all run into the, "Why do you NEED a gun" person, but this post isn't about them. I want to talk about the people who are just waiting to meet a gun owner in the flesh. They want to know if you're packing, can they see your permit and what it might take, for you to draw your weapon...

These inquisitive people are sweet, their hearts are in the right place, but they've been swayed by all the misleading info that's out there. They wouldn't consider themselves anti-gun, they are just detached or otherwise engaged. However, when they come across a person who is more involved in the gun world, they are immediately excited and full of questions.

Read more at Gun Nuts
©2013 ArmedCandy,LLC

6/23/2013

AR build diary: Goals

By Gabby

AR parts come together to make ArmedCandy's girly gun
Before we move on to the discussion of assembling the upper receiver and related AR parts, I thought we should pause and discuss my goals for this build. As we know, guns are tools and tools have specific jobs. For example, pistols are generally for short range shooting, while rifles are for longer range. When considering the parts that go into an AR build, one must consider what job they want their "tool" to accomplish. Each decision is usually a trade off, like selecting a longer barrels may offer more accuracy but it will also make your AR rifle considerably heavier.

6/20/2013

AR Build Diary: Lower Assembly Completion

By Gabby

Buffer assembly for ArmedCandy AR
We are so close to finishing the build of our AR's lower receiver and we only have a few more parts to go. I've saved the buffer tube and all that goes with it for last, mostly because it will be the hardest procedure to explain, and yet, pretty simple to get done. Let's dive in!

6/19/2013

Sexist Comments on Top Shot All Stars

By Gabby Marcuus

Gabby Franco of Top Shot Season 4, Gabby Marcuus of ArmedCandy and William Bethards at SHOTShow 2013While watching this last week's episode* of Top Shot on the History Channel, I was happily tweeting with fellow gunners. Then Gabby Franco decided to send us all on an emotional roller coaster, thinking that we might have to watch the rest of the season without her. She kept us guessing right up to the last row of steel targets but in the end, fellow "All Star", Kyle Sumpter put it best, when he called it,
...classic Gabby shooting...
precision, consistancy.
She sent home one of her closest friends, Chee Kwan. This  seemed to be a sweet flip, considering he was the shooter to end Gabby's run on Top Shot season 4. I'm sure the friendship between Chee and Gabby will withstand this victory. However, it was the the comments of another competitor, that made me pause as the credits rolled on Wednesday night.

6/19/2013

Top Shot Recap for Gun Nuts

By Gabby for Gun Nuts

Top Shot All Stars Season 5 Episode 3 on the History ChannelIt's Wednesday again and if you haven't had time catch last week's episode of Top Shot All Stars on the History Channel, here is your recap.

The main event was a speed challenge with the Sig Sauer 229 in .40 Smith and Wesson. Half the contestants names were pulled randomly and, one at a time, they were required to chose who they would shoot against. They're seemed to be a lot of belly-aching about who each shooter might pick, how they were all friends and didn't want to hurt each other's feelings. It surprised me that they were so focused on the emotional side of shooting against one another. Most said they didn't want to be the name drawn, who would then do the picking. Again, this seemed odd to me, since this person would have the opportunity to "call-out" a person they thought they could beat.

6/19/2013

Wednesday Gun Shaped Whatsit


Gun Shaped Whatsit


I'll give you a hint:
This gun shaped object is for the business person with a snappy sense of humor.

6/19/2013

Judging Gun Blogs Part 2 for Gun Nuts

By Gabby for Gun Nuts

gun blogs, the good bad and ugly, part 2Yesterday's post on judging a gun blogs was intended to lay down the groundwork, so that today we could get into the dirty details. Think of these two posts not as tearing down other bloggers or sites, but as public service announcements.

6/18/2013

Gun Blogs, Fact or Crap? for Gun Nuts

By Gabby for Gun Nuts

any one can blog, but what is a good quality gun blog?There's been some talk lately, about gun-bloggers and the quality of their information. Obviously, the mainstream media outlets are no place to get quality firearms information, so like gun people do, we talk to each other. Blogging is really just a large scale version of what we all do at the range. However, when you're at the range, you can size up the information source and decide whether it's worth your time to listen. Bloggers get to enjoy the anonymity that the Internet provides and they can say almost anything they want, in the hopes of drawing in suckers readers.

6/18/2013

Drink Drug Test for Gun Nuts

By Gabby for Gun Nuts

drink safe drug test cardI've mentioned date rape drug test products once before, but since they are now talking about it on my "favorite" hour of the Today show, I think I should address it again (and in more detail). Ladies, there are just too many ways for us to get hurt out there. Unfortunately, we may seem like good targets for any number of reasons, and there are lots of creepers who are ready to take advantage. Drinksmart.com has come up with these little coaster/cards for us to carry and use, if we believe someone has "tampered" with our drink. You take a drip of liquid from your glass and drop it on the card and if the dots change color, get your butt to a hospital.

When I first posted this technology, I imagined a woman in a bar, ordering a drink, leaving it on the bar while she walked away, returning to her drink and taking a big gulp. In this scenario it seemed ridiculous for this absent-minded chica to start holding a mini chemistry class right there at the bar. It's reasonable to assume that the girl who remembers to carry these cards is unlikely to be the same girl who would be absentminded enough to leave her drink lying around. However, in the months since I first heard about this Israeli invention, I happen to have dated a "sleeper creeper" and I'm sure he's not the only one out there.

Read more at Gun Nuts

©2013 ArmedCandy,LLC

6/17/2013

Safe Gun Storage from NSSF

Project ChildSafe, NSSF website for keeping children safe in a home with guns

By Gabby

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), has announced today, the launch of a new website promoting child safety around firearms. The site, Project ChildSafe, will have many tools, tons of information and even a quiz to see what parents are doing right and what they need to work on in the home.

6/17/2013

First Look at SCCY's CPX-2 for Gun Nuts

By Gabby for Gun Nuts

Sig Sauer 1911 SpartanSaturday was a busy day for me and meeting new guns. I got to fondle a Sig 1911 Spartan, and dream... But I also got a first look at a very new brand and their new concealed carry offering.

The company is called SCCY (pronounced Sky) and they are based in Florida. The local rep and his daughter were at the range for National Take Your Daughter to the Range Day, and one of the league women came out of the range to tell the rest of us about the gun the man was shooting. She said it was incredibly light and barely bigger than her new XDs 9mm that she was wearing in a belly band that day (for practice). SCCY firearms CPX-2 9mm concealed carryShe said that while it was light weight, the man's daughter (approximately 11 years old) was handling it like a champ. This woman takes her new hobby of shooting, very seriously and has thrown her self, head first, into IDPA as well. So when she said it was a brand she had never heard of, I was very surprised. When she said "SCCY" I was even more surprised that no gun nut in the room had heard of them either. I then broke out my phone for a quick "Bing" scan, (I no longer default to Google due to their "anti-weapon" policy). Upon arriving on the SCCY website I cringed and told the room the suggested retail price. They cringed as well.

Read more at Gun Nuts

©2013 ArmedCandy,LLC

6/17/2013

2nd Annual National Take Your Daughter to the Range Day for Gun Nuts

By Gabby for Gun Nuts

A Girl & A Gun of Cumming Ga volunteer at National Take your Daughter to the range day with ArmedCandy Yesterday was Father's Day, in case you forgot...
Did you get anything good?
A notoriously bad day for gift giving, Father's Day seems to have become more about spending a little quality time, rather than showing appreciation for the other 364 days of the year. I believe this to be true because I spent Saturday in Cumming, GA with the women of A Girl & A Gun Women's Shooting League. Saturday was the second annual "National Take Your Daughter to the Range Day" and the ladies were volunteering at Bulls Eye Marksman Gun Club, to run the day's activities. A Girl & A Gun of Cumming Ga volunteer at National Take your Daughter to the range day with Gabby of ArmedCandy It was the perfect event to honor paternity, because, while times may be changing, its still typical, for shooting to be a lesson that fathers teach and pass down through the generations.

Read More at Gun Nuts

©2013 ArmedCandy,LLC

6/16/2013

AR Build Diary: Pivot Pin Installation & Keeping 'er Scratchless

By Gabby

lwrc lower parts kit, not all parts depicted
Does anyone else have those scratches around the handle on the driver's side door of their car? Maybe you're the someone who carries a ton of keys and they bang agains the paint when you open the door, or maybe you have nice long fingernails that have the same affect. Either way, if you've ever seen this damage to a car, you probably understand why I want to avoid such an occurrence with my new AR-15. When I ordered my anodized aluminum lower receiver I was excited to note that such a finish is far more durable than a paint job. However, as I watched YouTube videos of folks assembling their guns, I noticed that no matter how carefully they worked, there was always a little bit of marring to the finish. I wanted my new gun to look new for as long as possible, so I was extra careful. Any time I was using a hammer, even a soft headed one, I had a piece of leather there protecting the rest of the receiver. Also, I used a long handled punch for the role pins, so that my blows would be exact.

6/14/2013

AR Build Diary: Get a Grip

By Gabby




AR part, Ergo Grip is installed on ArmedCandy's AR
It's very interesting how one part is connected to another in the AR-15. For example, installing the grip makes the selector function. I know I asked you to put the selector in place a few posts ago, and you've been watching it just flop there ever since. Well, now it's time to get it working.

Put the selector in the "safe" position and turn over your lower receiver. Where the grip should be, you will see a little hole. 1 The selector detent will fit into this hole and 2 the spring will follow. 3 Your grip should go on after this, but you may have to guide the selector spring into the grip somewhat, before everything will fit together.

6/13/2013

Ammo, find it & at the best prce

By Gabby

review of 2 websites that find ammo inventory at the best pricesThe ammo is coming! The ammo is coming! Maybe you didn't notice but 2013 will go down as the year of the ammo shortage. Already more than half way through the year and we only just seeing ammo inventory levels return to normal. Still, people will take a little while to calm their hoarding instincts. Rather than drive all over town here are two websites that are helping to tell us, where is the ammo? And who has the best ammo prices?

6/12/2013

Wednesday's Gun-Shaped Whatsit

Gun Shaped Whatsit

I'll give you a hint: A German designer (or maybe just some random dude) invented this thing to help guys in the heat of the moment...

6/12/2013

Gun Industry Women Agree on Gun Nuts

By Gabby for Gun Nuts

Gun Up Editor Shelley Rae and Gabby of ArmedCandy at SHOTShow 2013
Shelley, you know the industry far better then I and I defer to you on what it is like to do business within this world. I have never had to do anything in this industry other than write about my experiences and comment on how my sans-gun past and my pro-gun present compare. You are right that being judged on one's merits and hard work should be the key to success in this and many other male dominated industries. But I still believe that the women who work in this industry are different in the most awesome of ways.

Read more at Gun Nuts

©2013 ArmedCandy,LLC

6/11/2013

AR Build Diary: Hammer Time

By Gabby

ar parts, hammer installationInstalling the hammer into my lower receiver was the one time that a part went flying while I was building my AR-15. Fortunately, when the hammer snapped out of my hand and bounced off the lower to launch itself across the room, it only scratched the finish on the interior of my lower. I took a deep breath and started over, but noted that when I wrote about this step, I had to make sure readers realized that the springs of AR parts are extremely tight and strong and may fight back. So please, be careful.

6/10/2013

AR Build Diary: Trigger Time

By Gabby

ar parts, trigger installationSorry, no, not that kind of trigger time...it's time to install the trigger!

1 We start by putting the selector in place. It probably won't want to stay in the "safe" position, but that's ok. 4 Now, lay the lower down so the front is facing left and place the trigger pin into the lower/central hole in the receiver. The lines in the pin can help you see which end should go in to the hole first. The shortest section of pin, should go into the receiver last. The pin should only be pushed in until it stays in the receiver, but not so far that it comes out the other side of the first wall. The trigger and hammer pins probably won't need much force to  go into the receiver.

The trigger from LWRC comes with the small spring already in place as well as the larger spring in the front. If your lower parts kit did not come with these springs installed, then see the image below for the how those should attach.

6/10/2013

Restating the Joy of the Women of the Firearms Industry for Gun Nuts

By Gabby for Gun Nuts

Gabby & Lisa Looper of Flashbang HolsterLast Wednesday, I posted about me and my fellow firearms industry women. I blamed ladies for cattiness in the workplace, based on what I have seen occur in other industries. Unfortunately, I started that post with the sentences, "There was probably an audible grumble, the first time a woman took a job in this industry. Regardless of whether they were excited about it or not, men have slowly, accepted the change." This opening line, seemed to throw off most of the gun nuts who read the post. What I meant by these sentences was that I wouldn't blame guys for grumbling. It can sometimes be difficult to work with women. They can often be nasty to one another.

read more at Gun Nuts

©2013 ArmedCandy,LLC