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Angstadt Arms has an interesting new 9mm carbine based on the AR15 platform.  

Their carbine comes in several different SBR and standard configurations, uses Glock magazines, and is compatible with most aftermarket 9mm AR15 parts.

The upper and lower receiver are billet machined and fit and finish looks very good.  It’s a promising design and we’re looking forward to seeing more of this gun in the future.

This was by far the best thing I saw in the Taurus booth, and I find it to be a clever idea.
According to the rep I spoke to, this hammer will soon be standard on all Taurus revolvers, but is currently available on only a few models.
The hammer spur is removable, turning it into spur-less hammer, which is generally better suited for concealed carry.
To remove the spur you simply grab hold of the spur, turn counter clockwise 1/4 turn and pull.  There is a detent pin (and spring) that keep the spur from falling out/off when it is installed.  To re-install simply orient the spur as it was originally, and press it in. The detent pin will click when it locks the spur in place. The rep said that spare spurs will be available as they are aware that people may lose them. 

Because apparently Taurus thinks that women need “wings” not only on their feminine hygiene products, but on their pistols too.
As the Taurus rep I talked to told me “this gun is for women”.
It is a standard Taurus TCP with the addition of folding “wings” that can be deployed in order to aid is racking the slide…On this tiny .380…. O_0
I should also mention that the “wings” only aid in gripping the slide if you use the “slingshot” technique, which I do NOT advocate.  Also the wings have to be manually deployed, which under stress is not going to end well if you’re relying on said wings in order to operate the pistol.
In my opinion, f you cannot safely operate/manipulate the slide on a semi-auto handgun, then you should consider buying a different pistol, or buy a revolver instead.  In the case of the TCP (with or w/o wings) you would not sacrifice any capacity and you would gain the advantage of having a caliber better suited for personal defense.

In the interest of not being completely negative, I will add this.
The TCP (w/wings) has an okay trigger, a slide stop, and actual sights (albeit tiny ones). Aside from being way too small for my rather large hands, seems like a reasonable pistol if you like tiny .380s.
I would certainly pick this over the curve if I had to choose between the two.

While Erik and Gabe have pretty much covered what I have to say about the Taurus Curve, and done so more politely than I’m inclined to.  I will add that in addition to the long list of “features” I find completely asinine on this gun; if I were to actually shoot it (which I would like to do just to be thorough) I would have to adjust my grip a lot.  My off hand thumb ends up extending past the muzzle (my trigger finger almost gets to the muzzle in index position), which would not be healthy for my hand.

Wilder Tactical’s new “Evolution series” has some interesting new designs they are applying to magazine pouches, holsters, and tourniquet holders.

These pouches use a clamshell style design held together with shock cord (similar to the Taco pouches) but using Kydex instead of nylon.  The shock cord weaves through the two halves of the pouch and is secured with a cord lock.

The result is a rigid but adjustable pouch that can hold magazines or tourniquets of different sizes.  They also make a holster which can hold similarly sized handguns.

As a shooting instructor I like to switch up different guns in different classes.  The Wilder mag pouches should be able to hold mags for most of the pistols  I might use in any given class.

Pouches are available with belt clips and can be adapted for Tech-Lock, Molle-Lock, and other popular attachment designs.

The build quality is excellent and Josh Wilder was a great guy to talk to.  I picked up some of his magazine pouches and the TQ pouch, and will be testing them out on the range.

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