Letter from President Donald J. Trump to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Law & Justice Issued on: December 17, 2019

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Madam Speaker:

I write to express my strongest and most powerful protest against the partisan impeachment crusade being pursued by the Democrats in the House of Representatives. This impeachment represents an unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power by Democrat Lawmakers, unequaled in nearly two and a half centuries of American legislative history.

The Articles of Impeachment introduced by the House Judiciary Committee are not recognizable under any standard of Constitutional theory, interpretation, or jurisprudence. They include no crimes, no misdemeanors, and no offenses whatsoever. You have cheapened the importance of the very ugly word, impeachment!

By proceeding with your invalid impeachment, you are violating your oaths of office, you are breaking your allegiance to the Constitution, and you are declaring open war on American Democracy. You dare to invoke the Founding Fathers in pursuit of this election-nullification scheme—yet your spiteful actions display unfettered contempt for America’s founding and your egregious conduct threatens to destroy that which our Founders pledged their very lives to build. Even worse than offending the Founding Fathers, you are offending Americans of faith by continually saying “I pray for the President,” when you know this statement is not true, unless it is meant in a negative sense. It is a terrible thing you are doing, but you will have to live with it, not I!

Your first claim, “Abuse of Power,” is a completely disingenuous, meritless, and baseless invention of your imagination. You know that I had a totally innocent conversation with the President of Ukraine. I then had a second conversation that has been misquoted, mischaracterized, and fraudulently misrepresented. Fortunately, there was a transcript of the conversation taken, and you know from the transcript (which was immediately made available) that the paragraph in question was perfect. I said to President Zelensky: “I would like you to do us a favor, though, because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it.” I said do us a favor, not me, and our country, not a campaign. I then mentioned the Attorney General of the United States. Every time I talk with a foreign leader, I put America’s interests first, just as I did with President Zelensky.

You are turning a policy disagreement between two branches of government into an impeachable offense—it is no more legitimate than the Executive Branch charging members of Congress with crimes for the lawful exercise of legislative power.

You know full well that Vice President Biden used his office and $1 billion dollars of U.S. aid money to coerce Ukraine into firing the prosecutor who was digging into the company paying his son millions of dollars. You know this because Biden bragged about it on video. Biden openly stated: “I said, ‘I’m telling you, you’re not getting the billion dollars’…I looked at them and said: ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money.’ Well, son of a bitch. He got fired.” Even Joe Biden admitted just days ago in an interview with NPR that it “looked bad.” Now you are trying to impeach me by falsely accusing me of doing what Joe Biden has admitted he actually did.

President Zelensky has repeatedly declared that I did nothing wrong, and that there was No Pressure. He further emphasized that it was a “good phone call,” that “I don’t feel pressure,” and explicitly stressed that “nobody pushed me.” The Ukrainian Foreign Minister stated very clearly: “I have never seen a direct link between investigations and security assistance.” He also said there was “No Pressure.” Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, a supporter of Ukraine who met privately with President Zelensky, has said: “At no time during this meeting…was there any mention by Zelensky or any Ukrainian that they were feeling pressure to do anything in return for the military aid.” Many meetings have been held between representatives of Ukraine and our country. Never once did Ukraine complain about pressure being applied—not once! Ambassador Sondland testified that I told him: “No quid pro quo. I want nothing. I want nothing. I want President Zelensky to do the right thing, do what he ran on.”

The second claim, so-called “Obstruction of Congress,” is preposterous and dangerous. House Democrats are trying to impeach the duly elected President of the United States for asserting Constitutionally based privileges that have been asserted on a bipartisan basis by administrations of both political parties throughout our Nation’s history. Under that standard, every American president would have been impeached many times over. As liberal law professor Jonathan Turley warned when addressing Congressional Democrats: “I can’t emphasize this enough…if you impeach a president, if you make a high crime and misdemeanor out of going to the courts, it is an abuse of power. It’s your abuse of power. You’re doing precisely what you’re criticizing the President for doing.”

Everyone, you included, knows what is really happening. Your chosen candidate lost the election in 2016, in an Electoral College landslide (306-227), and you and your party have never recovered from this defeat. You have developed a full-fledged case of what many in the media call Trump Derangement Syndrome and sadly, you will never get over it! You are unwilling and unable to accept the verdict issued at the ballot box during the great Election of 2016. So you have spent three straight years attempting to overturn the will of the American people and nullify their votes. You view democracy as your enemy!

Speaker Pelosi, you admitted just last week at a public forum that your party’s impeachment effort has been going on for “two and a half years,” long before you ever heard about a phone call with Ukraine. Nineteen minutes after I took the oath of office, the Washington Post published a story headlined, “The Campaign to Impeach President Trump Has Begun.” Less than three months after my inauguration, Representative Maxine Waters stated, “I’m going to fight every day until he’s impeached.” House Democrats introduced the first impeachment resolution against me within months of my inauguration, for what will be regarded as one of our country’s best decisions, the firing of James Comey (see Inspector General Reports)—who the world now knows is one of the dirtiest cops our Nation has ever seen. A ranting and raving Congresswoman, Rashida Tlaib, declared just hours after she was sworn into office, “We’re gonna go in there and we’re gonna impeach the motherf****r.” Representative Al Green said in May, “I’m concerned that if we don’t impeach this president, he will get re-elected.” Again, you and your allies said, and did, all of these things long before you ever heard of President Zelensky or anything related to Ukraine. As you know very well, this impeachment drive has nothing to do with Ukraine, or the totally appropriate conversation I had with its new president. It only has to do with your attempt to undo the election of 2016 and steal the election of 2020!

Congressman Adam Schiff cheated and lied all the way up to the present day, even going so far as to fraudulently make up, out of thin air, my conversation with President Zelensky of Ukraine and read this fantasy language to Congress as though it were said by me. His shameless lies and deceptions, dating all the way back to the Russia Hoax, is one of the main reasons we are here today.

You and your party are desperate to distract from America’s extraordinary economy, incredible jobs boom, record stock market, soaring confidence, and flourishing citizens. Your party simply cannot compete with our record: 7 million new jobs; the lowest-ever unemployment for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans; a rebuilt military; a completely reformed VA with Choice and Accountability for our great veterans; more than 170 new federal judges and two Supreme Court Justices; historic tax and regulation cuts; the elimination of the individual mandate; the first decline in prescription drug prices in half a century; the first new branch of the United States Military since 1947, the Space Force; strong protection of the Second Amendment; criminal justice reform; a defeated ISIS caliphate and the killing of the world’s number one terrorist leader, al-Baghdadi; the replacement of the disastrous NAFTA trade deal with the wonderful USMCA (Mexico and Canada); a breakthrough Phase One trade deal with China; massive new trade deals with Japan and South Korea; withdrawal from the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal; cancellation of the unfair and costly Paris Climate Accord; becoming the world’s top energy producer; recognition of Israel’s capital, opening the American Embassy in Jerusalem, and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights; a colossal reduction in illegal border crossings, the ending of Catch-and-Release, and the building of the Southern Border Wall—and that is just the beginning, there is so much more. You cannot defend your extreme policies—open borders, mass migration, high crime, crippling taxes, socialized healthcare, destruction of American energy, late-term taxpayer-funded abortion, elimination of the Second Amendment, radical far-left theories of law and justice, and constant partisan obstruction of both common sense and common good.

There is nothing I would rather do than stop referring to your party as the Do-Nothing Democrats. Unfortunately, I don’t know that you will ever give me a chance to do so.

After three years of unfair and unwarranted investigations, 45 million dollars spent, 18 angry Democrat prosecutors, the entire force of the FBI, headed by leadership now proven to be totally incompetent and corrupt, you have found NOTHING! Few people in high position could have endured or passed this test. You do not know, nor do you care, the great damage and hurt you have inflicted upon wonderful and loving members of my family. You conducted a fake investigation upon the democratically elected President of the United States, and you are doing it yet again.

There are not many people who could have taken the punishment inflicted during this period of time, and yet done so much for the success of America and its citizens. But instead of putting our country first, you have decided to disgrace our country still further. You completely failed with the Mueller report because there was nothing to find, so you decided to take the next hoax that came along, the phone call with Ukraine—even though it was a perfect call. And by the way, when I speak to foreign countries, there are many people, with permission, listening to the call on both sides of the conversation.

You are the ones interfering in America’s elections. You are the ones subverting America’s Democracy. You are the ones Obstructing Justice. You are the ones bringing pain and suffering to our Republic for your own selfish personal, political, and partisan gain.

Before the Impeachment Hoax, it was the Russian Witch Hunt. Against all evidence, and regardless of the truth, you and your deputies claimed that my campaign colluded with the Russians—a grave, malicious, and slanderous lie, a falsehood like no other. You forced our Nation through turmoil and torment over a wholly fabricated story, illegally purchased from a foreign spy by Hillary Clinton and the DNC in order to assault our democracy. Yet, when the monstrous lie was debunked and this Democrat conspiracy dissolved into dust, you did not apologize. You did not recant. You did not ask to be forgiven. You showed no remorse, no capacity for self-reflection. Instead, you pursued your next libelous and vicious crusade—you engineered an attempt to frame and defame an innocent person. All of this was motivated by personal political calculation. Your Speakership and your party are held hostage by your most deranged and radical representatives of the far left. Each one of your members lives in fear of a socialist primary challenger—this is what is driving impeachment. Look at Congressman Nadler’s challenger. Look at yourself and others. Do not take our country down with your party.

If you truly cared about freedom and liberty for our Nation, then you would be devoting your vast investigative resources to exposing the full truth concerning the FBI’s horrifying abuses of power before, during, and after the 2016 election—including the use of spies against my campaign, the submission of false evidence to a FISA court, and the concealment of exculpatory evidence in order to frame the innocent. The FBI has great and honorable people, but the leadership was inept and corrupt. I would think that you would personally be appalled by these revelations, because in your press conference the day you announced impeachment, you tied the impeachment effort directly to the completely discredited Russia Hoax, declaring twice that “all roads lead to Putin,” when you know that is an abject lie. I have been far tougher on Russia than President Obama ever even thought to be.

Any member of Congress who votes in support of impeachment—against every shred of truth, fact, evidence, and legal principle—is showing how deeply they revile the voters and how truly they detest America’s Constitutional order. Our Founders feared the tribalization of partisan politics, and you are bringing their worst fears to life.

Worse still, I have been deprived of basic Constitutional Due Process from the beginning of this impeachment scam right up until the present. I have been denied the most fundamental rights afforded by the Constitution, including the right to present evidence, to have my own counsel present, to confront accusers, and to call and cross-examine witnesses, like the so-called whistleblower who started this entire hoax with a false report of the phone call that bears no relationship to the actual phone call that was made. Once I presented the transcribed call, which surprised and shocked the fraudsters (they never thought that such evidence would be presented), the so-called whistleblower, and the second whistleblower, disappeared because they got caught, their report was a fraud, and they were no longer going to be made available to us. In other words, once the phone call was made public, your whole plot blew up, but that didn’t stop you from continuing.

More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials.

You and others on your committees have long said impeachment must be bipartisan—it is not. You said it was very divisive—it certainly is, even far more than you ever thought possible—and it will only get worse!

This is nothing more than an illegal, partisan attempted coup that will, based on recent sentiment, badly fail at the voting booth. You are not just after me, as President, you are after the entire Republican Party. But because of this colossal injustice, our party is more united than it has ever been before. History will judge you harshly as you proceed with this impeachment charade. Your legacy will be that of turning the House of Representatives from a revered legislative body into a Star Chamber of partisan persecution.

Perhaps most insulting of all is your false display of solemnity. You apparently have so little respect for the American People that you expect them to believe that you are approaching this impeachment somberly, reservedly, and reluctantly. No intelligent person believes what you are saying. Since the moment I won the election, the Democrat Party has been possessed by Impeachment Fever. There is no reticence. This is not a somber affair. You are making a mockery of impeachment and you are scarcely concealing your hatred of me, of the Republican Party, and tens of millions of patriotic Americans. The voters are wise, and they are seeing straight through this empty, hollow, and dangerous game you are playing.

I have no doubt the American people will hold you and the Democrats fully responsible in the upcoming 2020 election. They will not soon forgive your perversion of justice and abuse of power.

There is far too much that needs to be done to improve the lives of our citizens. It is time for you and the highly partisan Democrats in Congress to immediately cease this impeachment fantasy and get back to work for the American People. While I have no expectation that you will do so, I write this letter to you for the purpose of history and to put my thoughts on a permanent and indelible record.

One hundred years from now, when people look back at this affair, I want them to understand it, and learn from it, so that it can never happen to another President again.

Sincerely yours,

DONALD J. TRUMP
President of the United States of America

cc: United States Senate
United States House of Representatives

Not really going to add much that hasn’t been eloquently pointed out elsewhere – the best laugh I have had in years was Chuck the commie fuck’s press conference ( Lord forgive me for denigrating communists by comparing the luciferian known as Chuck the fuck to them… ) stating that he needed to bring additional witnesses to the senate because we need evidence for the trial . Listen whore – you get the same shit burger your esteemed co-conspirators in the house used to vote – or not – for impeachment…

President Trump was far more eloquent in his letter than I would have been…

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap and don’t forget to pass the popcorn!!

S&W Shield – 9mm & .40

Smith & Wesson Shield – this one is in .40 caliber

We are going to look at these as a pair – ( except for the breech face, extractor, ejector, and magazines they are the same basic pistol )

With the introduction in 2012 of the Shield line Smith & Wesson put together an immediate success story that is still being written today – and shows no signs of slowing down. Let’s take a few minutes and look at some of the things that they did to to make this as popular as it has become . . .

Ergonomics – simply put – how does it feel? Now for a lot of consumer items ergonomics takes a passengers seat if not a back seat to function – simply because form becomes the issue, at times function almost becomes a secondary consideration the “styling” – the color – the perception of a fashion sense – “does the dress make my butt look to big??” – Guys are screwed at that point – there is only a wrong answer to that question!! That table lamp just needs to provide light – that’s all – but if you go to any furniture store you realize form beats function. Why else would you have literally a 1000 or more different table lamps on display??

Handguns are a little different however –

Functionality – does it go bang? In the case of an auto loader, does it cycle reliably? – do the magazines feed reliably? – Ergonomics is a big part of it – but function leads and form follows. A lot of it is almost a Goldilocks kinda thing – Oh this grip is too big and this grip is to small but this one is just right – is the trigger reach too short – too short and the right handed folks will tend to shoot left – the left handed to the right – very small pistols (KelTec P3AT – NAA Guardian – itty bitty stuff! ) those issues really show up – the Shield not so much – it is just big enough that someone with average size hand can do well with it with some practice. ( Damned P word again! ) S&W balanced it fairly well – yes the grips are thin, but it has enough trigger reach to somewhat off set the issue. The 18 degree grip angle helps with point-ability and “feel” and helps a lot with the ability to strip rounds out of the magazine and run them up into the chamber in a reliable manner.

More to consider – Recoil – slide mass vs recoil spring vs perceived recoil – amazingly the perceived recoil of the 9mm and the .40 are almost identical and the .45 has more recoil but the perception is a “gentler” recoil with it – ease of maintenance – is a degree in mechanical engineering needed to field strip – clean and re-assemble??

Let’s take a look . . .

9mm Shield

Check clear – Obviously ! – I include this because there does exist those among us those who would not think to do this – I simply refuse to launch into a rant about about non thinking people at this point – maybe tomorrow – maybe next week – but for today I will leave the oxygen thieves that are staggering among us alone in their blissful ignorance – see – I can feign being tolerant despite it being difficult!! – and I am not breaking my New Years resolution – I resolved to no longer feign concern – I never said I would not feign tolerance!!!

Drop the magazine . . .

and rotate the take down lever 90 degrees clockwise . . .

release the slide and pull the trigger . . .

And as simple as that there is your 4 pieces – ready to clean – no Greg – No bubble bath pics in this post!! – although at some point I will do a post on cleaning / lubing one just to show how easy it is – the pistol Greg – the pistol – some day maybe – if I can find some tasteful – shall we say artistic Asian girls in bubble baths pictures – just keep checking back Greg !!!

The biggest difference between the two ( 9 vs 40 ) is the slide . . .

9mm on the left – .40 on the right

The obvious is the breech face on the 9mm is smaller – and if you stare at it long enough the difference in the extractors is plain to see.

The hole in the slide for the barrel is the same – same barrel blank for either one – different sized hole – one bored, chambered and rifled for 9mm – the other for .40 . . .

9mm on the left – .40 on the right . . .

Even the recoil springs are the same part number!!!

Come on Bruce – How do they shoot ??

I would like to apologize up front for not having the pics from the .40 up here as well . . .

Multiple pics scattered across several different devices and multiple thumb drives – although now I think the term thumb nail drive is more appropriate. Pictures do exist of range time with the .40 – whether or not they exist on this planet . . . or in this dimension – well . . .

This pic is three magazines and firing at a sustained rate of about three rounds every two seconds – for me the 9mm is almost too slick feeling without some type of grip tape – rubber or grit type – either one would help with the “feel” – but damn they sure shoot nice – I did stick rubber style Talon Grips on the .40 and it does make a difference.

Easy to shoot well – easy to do normal maintenance on – easy to conceal – it’s not difficult to see how the Shield line up became such a success. I will get into the .45 and then the .380 and then a cleaning post as well.

Remember – Have Fun ( it really upsets some people to see other people having a good time ) – Run the Gun ( shooting is a hoot – kinda like Mom / apple pie / see the USA in your Chevrolet thing ) – and Fish Heads are Cheap !! Ain’t going there today !

The case for the 357 Sig

The .357 Sig was developed as a collaboration between Sig Sauer and Federal Ammo. The effort was to produce a cartridge that could be fired from firearms chambered for .40 S&W and utilizing a different barrel duplicate the performance of the .357 Magnum 125 grain cartridge – let’s take a look at it and see how they did with it.

Let’s take a look at the cartridge . . .

Sig wanted to equal or exceed the performance level of a 357 magnum in a 125 grain bullet loading for a very good reason – 357 magnum / 125 grain bullet has the best one shot stop percentages of any handgun cartridge – 96 % – and that is from 1935 to the present ! I really don’t want to get into a long drawn out discussion on handgun stopping power – let’s just all realize handguns are not the best choice but it is difficult to tote a 12 gauge shotgun or an AR-10 or a Ma Deuce Or here if you have about 30 minutes (really nice with a good sound bar and high volume level ) with you all the time in a discrete manner – thus handguns.

Sig and Federal Cartridge did very well with their project – average velocity of 357 magnum / about 1270 fps – average velocity of 357 Sig / 1350 – and yes, 80 fps is a significant difference. If you want to go exploring for yourself – let me point you in this direction – However – if in your digging through all the stuff – if you read ” well the 357 Sig is just a necked down 40 ” realize the writer is in error – being lazy – parroting what others are saying – take your pick. The case dimensions for the 40 S&W are SHORTER than the case dimensions for the 357 Sig. And if you start with a shorter case and then neck it down – that really doesn’t work – it comes out even shorter. And if your willing to spend a little bit more for food for your 357 Sig – try Underwood Ammo for this load – Oh My!

Let’s see – 125 grain projectile @ 1270 fps or 125 grain projectile at 1475 fps . 205 fps is an incredible difference in performance – about 16% more performance over a 357 magnum

I tend to go with bonded jacketed hollow points when you start edging towards maximum loads in any bullet – handgun or rifle – normal jackets – cup and core construction – have a tendency to start to peel and sheer off – you start shedding projectile weight and then you’re shedding kinetic energy and penetration .

A great many of the comparisons between these two head straight to ” but the 357 magnum with 158 grain – or 180 grain – or . . . let’s compare apples to kiwi fruit – the endeavor undertaken was to equal or exceed 357 magnum in one bullet weight – 125 grain – and Sig and Federal Cartridge succeeded – and in my humble opinion did quite well. And yes there are commercial offerings available in 135 grain and 147 grain but your trading bullet weight for velocity and edging away from that 125 Grain “sweet spot”.

If you want to go to a lighter bullet – there is this offering from Underwood Ammo – damn that’s into rifle velocities – might have to grab a couple of boxes just to play with!!

Utilization of existing platforms (where it starts making sense) . . .

The base of the case is identical to the “40” – which means that any platform that runs “40” could run .357 Sig as well. Just a barrel swap and everything works – the breech face / the same – the extractor / the same – the ejector / the same – the magazine / the same – the recoil spring / the same – all you need to do is swap out the barrel and you have .357 Magnum performance out of a semi automatic pistol. From a manufacturing perspective just change the roll marks on the slide and drop in a different barrel and away you go.

Why should I care? – Or – I like my wheel gun!

Not to step too deep into the bucket of semi auto vs revolver, let’s look at the obvious – and try to avoid sentimentality – Let’s take this straight on – revolvers are cool no doubt about that – there is a romanticism about them that most auto loaders just don’t match – however full size revolvers are more difficult to conceal ( we are going to try to compare apples to apples as much as we can ) when comparing full size duty weapons – the width of the cylinders are quite bulky when compared to semi auto’s – the capacity is not even close to each other – 6 rounds for the revolver vs 15 plus 1 for a Glock 31 – and if you go to compare a J frame sized revolver vs a S&W Shield 40 with a 357 Sig conversion barrel – (Y’all think there might be review coming up on that conversion??) ( Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus ) – your down to a 5 shot capacity and a 2 inch or less barrel – which loses you sight radius and velocity – and to be honest about it I know of no one who fires hundreds of round of full power 357 magnum in a snub nose revolver to become and remain proficient with it. Nobody. And I hang around with a whole bunch of folks who shoot on a regular basis. Anybody that enjoys that level of abuse are usually too tied up to make it to the range. Heh-Heh.

So did they succeed?. . .

Quite well in my biased opinion – you have the equivalent of one of the best personal weapons cartridges in the business with the capability of an auto loading platform. Glock currently produces pistols in 357Sig – Sig produces a number of platforms as well – P226 and P229 as well as these 1911 platforms – though not being produced anymore there is a lot of Sig P239’s in 40 on the used market.

Sig 1911 Nightmare

Sig 1911 Tacops (which I am lusting after)

A whole bunch of more “stuff” coming up – maybe even a review or two on long guns – recipes – and even some truly impressive rifles. . .

Remember – Have Fun – Run the Gun – and Fish Heads are Cheap!!

Girls of the IDF

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and Remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

Have yourself a furry little Christmas!

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

Some Stuff for You!!

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

S&W 4046 – Old School Stuff

Very nice example of a 4046 – Wait a minute now – whats a 4046??

Remember this chart from a previous post?? Lets work our way through all the numbers

It is a four digit number – so it is a third generation – _ _ _ _

The first two are 4 0 _ _ – so it is in 40 S&W –

The third number is a 4 – _ _ 4 _ – so it is standard size ( 4 inch barrel ) and Double Action Only

The fourth number is a 6 – _ _ _ 6 – so it is in stainless steel

Confused yet?? Again??

The third gen 4000 series pistols are really neat – they were designed by Smith to fire the 40 S&W cartridge and do a great job of mitigating muzzle flip and felt recoil – sheer size and mass helps smooth things out.

Here we are with a Glock 17 – very similar in size

However – when you put them on the scale – the similarity thing comes screeching to an abrupt halt!!

Glock 17 is just over 22 ounces empty weight . . .

Smith 4046 is just over 37 ounces empty weight !! It is actually quite pleasant to shoot full up 40 S&W loads in it – the sheer mass really settles things down.

Breakdown is simple enough – line up the notch – push the pin from the right and pull it out – comes right apart

Typical Gen 3 Smith – built hell for stout

Underside of the slide

Looking down the magwell

Yes I know it’s a little dirty in spots – simply have not had time to strip it and detail clean

The 4006 and it’s variants were used by many agencies in quite a variety of “flavors” including tactical models with an attached anodized rail as well as a super cool tactical model with an integral rail – I believe the only agency that coughed up the money for that one was CHP

Mark at Summit Gun Broker ( I grabbed these pics off his site ) has different models available at various times – click through to his sight and look under used handguns – and if you are looking for something “different Summit Gun Broker is for sale11 – check his site for details . . .

Smith & Wesson 4006 TSW – serial numbers start with CHP – now that’s cool – and notice the rail is machined out of the frame – not added on

Smith & Wesson 4013 TSW

S&W 4043TSW

These range in price from 300 to 500 bucks from various sources ( Gunbroker – pawn shops etc. ) – and you will more than likely never wear them out – they are built like tanks – and no I am not going to explain each model number to you – scroll up to the chart!

The double action only ( DAO ) on these is pretty neat – when you chamber a round you also pre-cock the hammer – shorter trigger pull – the trigger is very similar to firing a S&W revolver double action.

And I have seen them around in pawn shops occasionally – if I get a chance to run it I will get some pics or a video clip – all I did was run a function check with it – I just don’t have the time to run 2 or 3 hundred rounds through every thing every time – reality is a bitch!

These old S&W third generation pistols just have more “personality” than the polymer framed guns – not to knock all the fantastic plastic out there ( and I own my fair share ) – but these are just cool!

Have Fun – Run the Gun – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

CZ 2075 RAMI

From CZ’s website –

The CZ 2075 RAMI is a sub-compact semi-automatic based on the proven CZ 75 line of pistols. Just like the 75, the RAMI is double action/single action, allowing it to be carried in different conditions depending on the shooter’s preferences. Several safety devices are used including a firing pin block and a manual safety. Incorporating the CZ double-stack magazine design, the little RAMI ships with a 10 round flush-mount magazine and 14 round extended magazine, and a low capacity-compliant version is available with two 10 round magazines. With a 3” barrel and an unloaded weight of less than 26 ounces, the black polycoat, alloy-framed RAMI is ideal for concealed carry.

Picked this up at INNER10 – Jacques got 4 of them in – they didn’t last the week !! Y’all have seen several sneak peaks of this in previous posts – well here we go –

Added the G10 grips – they really “finish” the RAMI appearance wise – not to knock the factory grips – good texture but very plain. Shown in these two pics with the 14 round extended mag – these next two will give you a good idea of “pinky hanging” vs full grip – 10 round vs 14 round grip

10 round

14 round

The advantage of the 10 round mag is conceal-ability – the shorter the grip – the easier to conceal – the extended mag gives you 14 rounds for a reload.

Let’s take a look under the hood . . .

Line up the first notch with the back of the frame – push the pin out from the right side – may have to give it a tap – Gently!! Use a mag base plate . . .

Comes apart just about like everything else – take the slide off – pull the spring – drop the barrel – there ya be !

Looking down the mag well –

Under side of the slide showing the firing pin block –

The guide rod is a little different with one spring captured and one spring not –

The feed ramp comes smooth from the factory – no need to fluff and buff !!

Factory stated weight is 25.9 ounces – this one with G10 grips on this scale – 23.1

The footprint is just about identical to the S&W Shield – But it is thicker which is an advantage grip wise – gives you more real estate to get a hold of but it does make it a little harder to conceal

You almost over reach with the Shield grip – grip is borderline too thin – combined with the higher bore axis the Shield tends to move around a bit when firing – especially with one hand – and there is not a lot of room for a two handed grip – practice will overcome both issues – the Shield tends to be less of a natural shooter for most folks – But ease of concealment has made the Shield very popular – well north of a million sold!!

The 2075 with its thicker grip gives you a much more “solid” feeling one handed grip – (and totally subjective ) the G10 grip texture is even better than the factory grips on the 2075. With a two handed thumbs forward grip the larger grip on the RAMI really works better than the Shield.

I can’t find the video of the Shield – it may have gotten deleted – it was from quite awhile back – if I get time I will do a fresh one and post an update to this – the difference in stability between the two platforms is very noticeable .

Looking for something else and ran across this picture – had to include it in a quick update – enjoy!!

Well . . . Should I buy one?? That is the bottom line after all – If the price point doesn’t run you off – Absolutely !! Relatively easy to conceal – Great natural shooter – carry’s like a small pistol – Shoots like a full size !! As of this posting – Jacques has one on the shelf at INNER10 – 25% Down – three months to pay it out – don’t pass it up just because you don’t have the full price in your pocket !! Worth every penny!

More stuff just around the corner . . . .

Run the Gun – Have Fun – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap !!

3 Million and Counting

The Smith & Wesson Shield

Introduced at Shot Show 2012 the 9mm Shield created quite a stir – and became quite the success for Smith & Wesson. Originally offered in two versions – thumb safety or not – the little pistol has really come a long way in just seven years. Smith & Wesson now produces them in four calibers – the original 9mm – a .40 caliber, .380 acp – and a .45 acp .

And so many different factory “options” it tends to be difficult to choose, yet you can find one that fills your specific needs if you are willing to wade through the myriad of offerings.

Night sights – ported barrels – integral laser – “Performance Center” models with upgraded triggers – ( all y’all know how I feel about aftermarket triggers for carry or duty handguns – work and practice – that ugly P word again – and upgrade your skill set !! ) just about any flavor you desire can be bought from the factory.

Let’s take a look at all four . . .

9 mm Shield – The one that started it all . . .

At the time of release it really raised the bar for small 9mm pistols. 7 plus 1 capacity – thin – very concealable inside the waistband and depending on the cut and fit of your pants even pocket carry. Touted as a single stack it’s actually a slight stagger stack. The .40 and .45 are true single stack magazines. Polymer framed for weight savings it comes in at just 18.6 ounces with no magazine. Steel insert for the rails – locking block – fire control group etc.

Then came the Shield in 40 S&W – Weighing slightly less – the barrel is thinner by just a bit – larger hole ( .40 caliber or 10 mm vs 9mm ) – and since the 40 S&W is a little larger diameter cartridge – the breech face , extractor , and ejector are different. Externally ( except for the bore ) the pistols are identical. Holster , Talon grips , lights , sights , lasers etc. are interchangeable.

And then came the Shield in .45 caliber. It is slightly longer in slide and barrel. A tiny bit wider in the slide – and just a little bit longer grip and ever so slightly taller.

Most leather holsters ( and some kydex ) will interchange – I have holsters for the 9mm and the ones I use work with all 3 versions. I utilize the 9mm and .40 as pocket pistols utilizing this minimal kydex cover –

It is as simple as can be – loop it around a belt loop – “click” it over the trigger guard and slip the pistol in your pocket. It even works on the .45 Shield –

The only issue is the .45 Shield just won’t fit in a pocket – the 9mm and .40 are right on the edge of what I can utilize and the tiny difference in the size of the .45 Shield “sizes” it out of the pocket – but it works great inside the waist band or in a belt holster.

And last of the Shield series –

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The Shield 380 EZ – S&W wanted to include a 380 in the Shield series – and they are calling this a Shield – so I guess it is a Shield – there are some significant differences between this and the other three, which we will look at when we get to the “380 EZ” post. Here is a side by side with a 9mm Shield and you can see S&W went down a little different path with the 380.

Plan to do each “flavor” as a stand alone post – Then I’ll pick a favorite – that won’t be hard to do for me (Hint – You will be surprised ) – can’t speak for y’all and which one you will pick.

Remember – Have Fun – Run the Gun – and Fish Heads are Cheap !!