Contents
1)    Drawing Winners
2)    Major Announcements
3)    Upcoming Matches
4)    Upcoming Classes
5)    Newsletter Article

Drawing Winners
FREE CLASS                        Hoyt Ussery III
$50 OFF NEXT CLASS       Judy Hon
$50 OFF NEXT CLASS       James Ballantyne

Congratulations to the winners.  Please contact us to use your certificates.

Major Announcements
We have FACTORY ammo available for competitors & students.
9mm = $30/100, 40S&W = $35/100, 45ACP = $40/100.  Call for additional information.
ShooterShack is now accepting Credit Cards via the online store!

Upcoming Matches
July 11th              MULTI-GUN MATCH - Instead of USPSA     $30 Match Fee (Trophies)

Upcoming Classes
July 18th              Missouri CCW Class                                   $125    Bench Rest
July 19th              Advanced CCW - Strategies & Tactics     $100    Bench Rest
August 9th           Mastering the AR-15 Rifle                          $100    Bench Rest
August 22nd       Intro. to Competitive Handgun                   $125    Bench Rest
August 29th         Missouri CCW Class                                  $125    Top Gun

Newsletter Article
Three popular questions I hear almost daily:

1)  What gun should I buy for Concealed Carry?

Short Answer:  The one you will actually carry every day.  Concealed Carry has more to do with the person and their abilities than the specific model of handgun they choose as the TOOL to protect themselves.

Long Answer:  With the above said, there are obviously some choices that are better than others.  The two most important factors are reliability & simplicity.  There are many reliable choices out there, so I'm going to set that aside for a minute with the assumption that enough time and effort would be made to ensure any gun selected is reliable.  For example, I won't carry a gun for self defense until I have put at least 200 rounds through it at the range.  The Glock is the simplest semi-automatic to use because it has the fewest controls(no safety or decocking levers) to manipulate and the best overall choice for concealed carry.  There are many other supporting factors that solidify the Glock's place as the best choice for CCW...Ease of Shooting, Availability of Accessories, Ability to Shoot Competitively at Pistol Matches for Practice, Cost, Durability, etc..., but it would take a novel to compare all the available models across the many factors.

One quick note on Glock reliability...I have shot over 10,000 rounds though my Glock 17 since it was last cleaned(August, 2008) and 100 rounds went through it last night flawlessly.  The gun has over 60,000 total rounds through it with the trigger reset spring being the only item requiring replacement and the gun can still shoot without it.  I DO NOT recommend this kind of cleaning schedule for your personal carry gun, but it's nice to know it will work if you forget to clean and oil after a trip to the range.

2)  What caliber should I buy?

I always recommend going with the largest caliber YOU can shoot accurately, but lean toward the 9mm because it is the least expensive, has the best selection of bullet designs, and is easier to shoot accurately than a 40S&W or 45ACP.

3)  What do YOU choose to carry?

Short Answer:  It depends on what I'm wearing, where I'm going, if I just bought a new gun, etc...

Long Answer:  I wear my S&W 642 5-shot revolver with Crimson Trace grips more than any other handgun I own.  I don't recommend this option for most shooters because the gun is difficult to shoot accurately.  However, I practice with it regularly and was hitting 8" plates using only my weak hand while standing at 20 yards just last night with no misses.  While I can't imagine a self defense scenario that would require me to take those shots, it is nice to know that level of accuracy is possible.  I load it with Winchester Super-X 38 Special +P 158 Grain Lead Hollow Point Semi-Wadcutters because it is inexpensive compared to other personal defense ammo and the bullet design was successfully used by the FBI for many years.  However, I use CCI Blazer 38 Special +P 158 Grain Total Metal Jacket ammo for practice because the recoil is similar, but it is about half the price and much cleaner to shoot.

Remember that when it comes to self defense...Only Shoot as a LAST RESORT!

John Parker
President - Missouri Competitive Shooting Academy
John@ShooterShack.com