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I’m going to piggy back on Erik’s post about the Curve with a slightly different angle.  Most of us saw pictures of the Curve and expounded WTF.  I think the community in general had the same response.  I wanted to give the gun a chance as I don’t think it’s fair to review something you haven’t handled.  We found out the Taurus didn’t even have this at the Media Range day, which I think is a sign they didn’t want bad reviews, so other than what you may have seen online there will be no reviews from SHOT on how this thing fires.

The Curve is really a silly exercise in engineering and design.  The curved handle is so minor its almost not worth mentioning.  The gun is so small it felt the same in both right and left hands (this is marketed as a right handed gun….whatever that means).

The gun comes in two models, one with the integrated laser flashlight combo (either both on or both off, no variable settings) or one without.  The unit with the integrated laser light system has a simple flip switch to turn the unit on or off but it is meant to be manipulated by your right hand trigger finger and as we played with it we found it plausible that flicking of this switch in a forceful or panicked manner could result in the trigger finger sliding to the trigger pretty easily.  Would this cause accidental discharges?  Probably not but it seemed like a bad design choice.  Strictly speaking shooting the gun left handed and using your right hand thumb to operate the switch seemed like a better idea.

As pointed out by Erik the magazine release was clumsy and the gun has a magazine safety which is a feature I find pretty useless in an actual fighting gun.  The lack of slide stop is concerning and when I asked what they recommended if someone had an extended stoppage I got a blank stare.

This gun is really a single use unit.  Shoot it until it’s empty and hope the target goes down.  It’s a close range emergency gun and in that respect it seems OK but for all the buzz it’s really not worth the attention.  I’d still like to shoot it but if you want a well designed 380 there are better options.

We’ll start with what I liked.  The trigger was surprisingly good for a compact .380, and the gun was sized right for its purpose.  In lieu of sights the Curve has indexing marks on the rear of the slide.  To properly use the gun, you center the back of the slide on your target and press the trigger.  In defensive shooting we call this “meat and metal” and at close range, the technique works pretty well.

On the other hand, the Curve had some things I could do without.  First on this list would be the curved handle.  Completely useless and did not appear to make the gun any easier to carry (I’d argue that any gun that small should go into a pocket rather than a waistband anyway).  Taurus did make an accessory holster which covered the Curve’s trigger guard, making it safer for pocket carry.   Attached to the Curve is a removable belt clip so it can be carried without a holster (not recommended!)

Other anti-features of the Curve were the LED light (too small to be useful) and laser which were difficult to operate, and a superfluous magazine disconnect safety.

The magazines had a cumbersome two-sided clip-in design that would make carrying spare magazines bulky to carry.  If the gun has a malfunction, you can forget about being able to clear it because of the lack of operational slide release.

I did my best to give the Curve a chance.  The lack of sights, poor magazine design, and lack of slide release, coupled with superfluous accessories made me want to hate it, but some of the innovations made me simply not like it.  I wouldn’t recommend it for serious use without some revisions.  To me, it’s another example of a gun that’s meant to be carried but never actually used.

The QSI Crew is all packed up and heading out to the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trades (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas!

We’ll be arriving tonight and staying for the entire show. Watch this blog for updates from Erik, Mark, Josh and Gabe. We’ll be also be partnering up with Short Barrel Shepherd to review and report on the newest guns, gear, and other products for 2015!

What do YOU want to see us check out? Let us know in the comments.

Saturday September 30, 2017 – Saturday September 30, 2017

9525 West 230th Street

Description:

This course provides begins with a review of core handgun skills and moves on to advanced techniques.  This is an advanced course for experience shooters and requires the QSI Defensive Handgun or equivalent as a prerequisite.

Topics covered include:
Use of Cover and Concealment – One Handed Shooting – Shooting, Reloading, and Clearing Stoppages while Wounded – Alternate Draw and Carry Methods – Precision Handgun Shooting – Unusual Shooting Positions

Required Equipment:

• Suitable Defensive Handgun (no .22 or target pistols).
• Good quality holster
• At least 400 rounds of ammunition
• At least 2 spare magazines with a magazine pouches
• Ear Protection, Eye Protection and a Baseball Cap (keeps hot brass out of your hair)

Register

Saturday July 22, 2017 – Saturday July 22, 2017

9525 West 230th Street

Description:

We spend a lot of time in our vehicles, so it only makes sense to learn to fight in and around them.  This course will focus on the handgun and other EDC (Every Day Carry) weapons.  Students will conduct dry practice and live fire using vehicles on the range.

Topics Covered Include:

• Self-defense inside the vehicle
• Bailing out under fire
• Shooting from inside the vehicle and behind the wheel
• Using a vehicle as cover
• Shooting through glass
• Vehicle firearm storage options

The is an advanced skill level course.  QSI Advanced Handgun or equivalent is a required prerequisite.   If you have questions about prerequisites, please feel free to contact us.

Register

Saturday August 12, 2017 – Saturday August 12, 2017

9525 West 230th Street

Description:

This course is designed to provide an introduction and build basic skills for the defensive shotgun. Many US households have a shotgun sitting in a closet with the intent of using it for self-defense. Learn to use the shotgun effectively to defend your home and family.

Topics covered include:
Shotgun Features and Ballistics – Loading, Unloading, and Carrying the Shotgun – Shotgun Marksmanship – Precision Shotgun Shooting – Shooting from Cover and Concealment

Required Equipment:

• Ear Protection, Eye Protection and a Baseball Cap (keeps hot brass out of your hair)
• Suitable defensive Shotgun: 12-gauge pump or auto recommended, but not required. Rental guns available for additional charge.
• 100 rounds birdshot
• 50 rounds 00 Buckshot
• 25 rounds Slugs

Register

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Saturday July 8, 2017 – Saturday July 8, 2017

Description:

A self-defense scenario can be expected to happen quickly at close range – and you may not even have time to draw your gun.  This class is designed to teach techniques for drawing and shooting at close range distances.

Topics include:

• Close-Quarter Combative Techniques
• Weapon Retention and Disarms
• Shooting Through Clothing
• Contact Shooting
• Alternative Sighting Methods
• Defending Against Close-Quarter Attacks
• Integrating the Empty Hand, Knife, and Gun
• Using Backup Guns

This class teaches advanced techniques and is intended for experienced shooters.  QSI Advanced Handgun or equivalent is a required prerequisite.  If you have questions about prerequisites, please feel free to contact us.

Register

Saturday March 21, 2015 – Saturday March 21, 2015

17706 Valley View Drive

Description:

This class will be a combination of our Permit to Carry Combatives and Force on Force training.  Emphasis here will be on fighting at extremely close range and in tight spaces.

Participants will learn close-quarter defensive tactics, empty hand self-defense techniques, deploying intermediate weapons (such as mace or batons) and weapon retention and disarms.

Participants will then participate in a series of Force on Force scenarios designed to challenge the student’s situational awareness, reaction to danger, and overall fighting skill.

Scenario-based exercises will allow you to practice your defensive pistol skills against live opponents in a dynamic Force-on-Force environment. Blue Guns, Airsoft and other training weapons will be used. This law-enforcement training facility features an indoor training space with several different scenario rooms.

Some physical contact will take place during this training.

The following equipment is recommended. If you do not have this equipment, please contact us, we have a limited amount of “loaner” gear.
– Paintball/Airsoft mask with full face protection
– Protective gloves
– Airsoft Gun, BBs and Gas
– Blue Gun/Red Gun training gun
– Rubber training knife
– Groin protector
– Long-sleeve shirt (hoodies or sweatshirts work great) and pants
– Knee/elbow pads

We have loaner equipment if you don’t have your own – just let us know in advance.

We hope you can join us for this unique training opportunity!

Register

There’s a new slur in town, courtesy of Bill Mahr.  “Ammosexual.”  It seems to be catching on in social media and elsewhere.

When you need to use a slur or insult to describe your political opponents, it’s clear that the logic is draining out of your argument.  Of course, gun control advocates prefer emotional arguments to logical ones, which is all the more reason why using slurs suits them.

The feeling behind using a slur to describe a person (or group of people) is to marginalize and dehumanize them.  In extreme cases, it’s used to reinforce the belief that they are less than human.   In wartime, soldiers (right or wrong) will often apply slurs to our enemies so we don’t see them as people, making them easier to kill.

I find it very ironic that “ammosexual” is a portmanteau of “homosexual”.  Mahr and his supporters are using the same tactics against us that they claim to believe should not be used against GLBT folks.

Using slurs to describe people is wrong, no matter who it is.  Trying to turn a person into a second-class citizen is wrong, no matter who it is.  Mahr’s camp is taking a page from the playbook of racists and homophobes.

Owning a gun, for me, and people like me, is a “lifestyle.”  I’m proud to be a member of the American Gun Culture, a unique group of people with a long and storied history.

I have trouble understanding how anti-gun people can be so vehemently opposed to my lifestyle choices that they feel I deserve the same level of insult and marginalization that racists and homophobes give their perceived enemies.  To them, it’s okay to slur us, lie about our motives and beliefs, lie about our actions, and even claim we are a threat to civil society (sound familiar?)

An important part of being free is honoring your neighbor’s choices, even if you disagree with them.  Intolerance is wrong, and they are wrong too.