03 Aug 07
News from SIG:
Friends at SIG tell me the new P250 will be shipping in October. The 40S&W/357SIG version will be a thirteen-shooter (12+1, like the current 229). However, the 9mm version will be a seventeen-shooter (16+1), 226-capacity in a 229-sized-pistol! 9mm will go into production first, with 40S&W/357SIG to follow.
I'll have a copy to test when the first batch comes into CONUS, and I'll report back.
/John
03 Aug 07
More on the P250
"The P250 has a new trigger, neither a DAK, nor a DA/SA. It is a six-pound DAO (self-decocking). It is smoother than the DAK and is consistent from beginning to end. There is no stacking. The P250 is modular and simple. Easy to maintain at the user level, easy to keep running at the armorer level, the pistol only has 33 parts!"
Comment: With this new service pistol, SIG has obviously directly targeted LE and military markets. To these end-users, (1) ease of user-level maintenance, (2) ease of parts replacement (armorer level), (3) ease of training, (4) and ease of safe and efficient use are the big selling points.
Thus, consumers like chiefs of police and military units have no use for complicated, temperamental pistols that are difficult to train with, hard to keep running, and prone to NDs. Hence, (1) Manual decocking levers and manual safety levers are out. (2) Assiduous, tedious fitting of parts by a gunsmith is out. (3) Inconsistent triggers are out. (4) Arduous, complicated field-stripping and reassembly is out. (5) Tiny, fragile parts are out.
SIG deserves a lot of credit for fearlessly moving forward on these issues. The P250 will be a hot item when it arrives!
/John
03 Aug 07
Near-incident, from an LEO student, who is a patrol sergeant with a large, rural SO:
"Late this afternoon, I responded to a complaint of an aggressive coyote. Residents reported that the animal was prowling their neighborhood and belligerently confronting homeowners. Upon arriving, I parked my beat car near a local railroad right-of-way, grabbed my Mossberg 590, and proceeded down the siding, figuring I would position myself where the coyote would likely be traveling. I instructed my partner to park in the same place and trace mypath, coming up behind me.
Sure enough! I immediately spotted the coyote walking slowly down the siding and away from me. I shouldered the shotgun and brought the sights up onto the animal. Range was forty meters, and I was using Federal 'Flight-Control' 00 Buckshot. Well known for tight patterns, I calculated I could take out the coyote, and pellets that missed would expend themselves harmlessly downrange. I had a clear shot, or so I thought!
Just as I tightened up on the trigger, I noticed the coyote looking over his shoulder, not at me, but at something else. I hesitated. Suddenly, at about half the distance between the coyote and me, and on a direct line, my partner burst out of the bushes!
The coyote ran away, never to be seen again! I lowered my muzzle, returned my finger to register, and took a breath! Partner smiled and waved at me, conspicuously unaware of what nearly happened!
When I confronted him, I related that I had nearly shot him, because he was nowhere near where he was supposed to be. He was surprised and began rationalizing about how he saw neither my beat car nor me, even though I had radioed my exact location a few minutes prior.
I concluded the conversation with the admonition that we both needed to improve our communication skills, while we still can!
Lessons: Communication: Just when you explain something as directly and clearly as you think humanly possible, you will discover everyone who heard you hasn't the foggiest idea of what the hell you're talking about! One-sided communication is an assassin, and it nearly succeeded here!
Of course, absolute knowledge is impossible, but, to the greatest extend possible, KNOW YOUR TARGET, what is behind it, and what is between it and your muzzle. There is no such thing as 'friendly fire!'
Target fixation: Common with hunters stalking game, target fixation will prevent you from noticing other important cues. For example, the coyote was looking at my partner the whole time. It was never aware of me. I couldn't figure out why the animal kept looking over it's shoulder in my direction,as I was down-wind and quiet. I should have put two-and-two together much sooner than I did. But, I was concentrating so hard upon my quarry, I failed to see other important clues.
No harm done, but important lessons learned!"
/John
Copyright © 2007 by DTI, Inc. All rights reserved.
created on Friday August 3, 2007 23:59:2 MST