Category: Uncategorized

Did you get out and train this past weekend? A lot of the guys at Aim shoot at least one day a week. Sometimes it is 1 or 2 of us, sometimes it’s 12 of us. Random days will be rifle and pistols, some just rifles or pistols, no real pattern just kind of whoever feels like doing something does it.

This weekend a couple of us worked on two really fun and challenging standards. I enjoy these drills because they are doable but really push you to use what you have tried so hard to perfect.

The F.A.S.T Challenge and Shoot 2.

The F.A.S.T is a really fun one to run especially when you read it and think “ok that seems very possible to run clean” And then you do it and really have to be dialed in to even come close. Forcing you to rely on what you have learned and apply it properly. Here is the challenge:

This drill was created by the late Todd Green. the F.A.S.T drill is now done with Ernest Langdon. The target is set at 7 yards and consists of a 3×5 box and an 8-inch circle.

The F.A.S.T. (Fundamentals, Accuracy, & Speed Test):
Range: 7 yards
Start position: weapon concealed or in retention duty holster with all retention devices active; shooter facing downrange in a relaxed stance with arms down at sides.
The drill begins from the holster, pistol loaded with exactly two rounds.
• draw
• fire two (and only two) rounds at the 3×5 box
• perform a slide lock reload
• fire four (and only four) rounds at the 8″ circle
Scoring:
Open top retention (ALS, SERPA) without concealment
add 0.50 seconds to the final score.
Flap/retention mag pouch subtract 0.50 seconds.
Misses to 3×5 box add 2.00 seconds per miss.
Misses to 8” circle add 1.00 seconds per miss.
Ranking:
10+ seconds: Novice
less than 10 seconds: Intermediate
less than 7 seconds: Advanced
less than 5 seconds: Expert

The only way to get a coin for passing is an expert run under pressure in a Langdon class.

The other drill I personally try to run every range trip is the Shoot 2 Standards from Shane Cardwell from Impact Shooting Center.

This Drill is tough as well. Most of the time you will run it clean and not for time, or run it for time and miss shots. It will be the death of me I swear.

The Shoot 2 Standards):
Range: 7 yards
Start position: weapon concealed or in OWB holster
The drill begins from the holster
• draw
• fire two (and only two) rounds at the 3×5 box
• Repeat for 5 rounds, 5 total draws, and 10 total shots

Scoring: Par time must not exceed 9 seconds total and must be clean (no misses outside the 3×5 card. Line breaks DO count as hits.

.15 second penalty for OWB but NO penalty for level 3 retention

No Mulligans.

I have seen multi-time world champion shooters fail this, I have seen shooters that are on a different level than normal shooters fail this. I have seen Shane pass it himself numerous times and I have seen him fail it as well. It is tough but like the F.A.S.T drill….it will motivate you to fix your flaws.

If you want to take a run at these here are the targets:

http://pistol-training.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/fast-target.pdf

https://impactshootingcenter.com/impact-standards

-Cano

I want to do something cool to showcase the people who work at AIM are not just regular folks who happen to work at a gun shop. I want to show that we have a variety of shooters here from skeet shooting to USPSA competitors. A variety of styles means a variety of firearm setups and uses that hopefully and get you pumped up to do a new build or take a current build in direction you have always wanted.

The first edition of this I want to highlight concealed carry. This area has so many different options and setups and is unique to each individual.

I say variety and then realize we all carry either an M&P or Glock with one person flexing on everyone with a Staccato.

Holsters are a personal choice, most of us run some sort of appendix setup with holsters from Tier 1 or T.Rex arms

Check out the setups from the guys at AimSurplus!

Coming in hot! The AimSurplus crew is proud to introduce the new down range logo. We like the logo so much we threw it on some merch!

You can fill the void of potentially losing a baseball season with these cool baseball tees and hoodies!

And if you don’t like the baseball style we have these classic grey shirts.

Get em while they are hot!

-Cano

Pretty cool write up on one of the Norinco Type 54 Tokarev TT-33s we have here at AIM in the January 2022 online issue of the Dillon Blue Press.

We still have some in stock so stop by the showroom and check some out or if you are too far away to swing by we have them listed on the website as well! Pretty cool little firearm with some history behind them.

Hola Amigos.

James here, although if you have met me in the showroom, you will probably know me as Cano.

Recently the folks running this place decided to add another member to our media team and I won the Kumite to earn the role. I love where I work and will miss the showroom. I truly enjoyed helping people find the firearm that was the perfect fit but I am super excited to join Josh upstairs and get you guys some cool product videos and so much more.

A little bit about me for those who care:

I am from California, yes I know… but I left.

I love shooting at Impact Shooting Center with the guys from work or even some customers that have become friends.

I was a Glock guy until I was shown the way of the M&P. I still have some Glocks and I love them still but I am just a better shooter with my M&P.

Here is my daily carry: M&P 2.0 4.25″ with an apex trigger. Trijicon SRO. Floyds Custom Shop magwell and baseplates. Cruxord Mag Release. Optic cut and cerakote from slideworks engineering.

Well with that being said, I better get back to the real work before they make me clean the parking lot with a toothbrush.

I look forward to working with Josh to get you guys some super cool content to check out and hopefully get some more customers for life!

-Cano

Fresh off the truck we have a bunch of JMAC Customs products!

Super cool anodized aluminum stocks in a couple different triangle styles as well as a couple skeleton style stocks as well.

We also got in some new muzzle devices including the LAF Brake so you can really let your komrades know whats up! This thing is going to be Loud and Flashy…see what I did there? In addition to the brake we got in some Key-Mo and Wolfman muzzle devices for your Dead Air Silencer setups! I am a big fan of the handstop included in this picture as well, really slim and perfect for a backpack setup.

We have more from JMAC on the website including more muzzle devices, another stock and a handstop. Hurry up and check them out before they are gone!

P.S. Look how good this skeleton stock looks on an MP5!

-Cano

Riley Defense is at it again! Bringing us an affordable AK with the design and ergonomics customers are asking for!

We all know everyone loves a good Triangle Folder AK. It’s a given in life like death and taxes. Riley Defense has been known for its quality and affordable AKs and their new one is no different. It features a 16.25 in 7.62×39 nitrided barrel, a side folding triangle stock with wooden handguard and a big ole muzzle device. Optic rail is mounted onto the forged trunion so you know you immediately have a way to mount an optic.

Right now the AK world has been at the highest prices they have ever been. 7.62×39 is still one of the more affordable rifle rounds and at the moment readily available. Most people will always be an AK guy or a AR guy. If you have ever wanted to try the opposition and not get stuck with an expensive gun you might not like, then grab this Riley. It’s quality for the price and on the minimal chance you don’t like it, would still hold its resale value.

These Rileys are on the website and they are arguably some of the better ones we have in stock right now. Head on over to the page and check out what we have and give them a shot of your own!

For the longest time the M&P Series of firearms has held an odd title. It single handily has the best and worst trigger on the market. How is that so?

The factory trigger in the full size and compact M&P’s specifically the generation 1, has the worst trigger in it from a major company, without a doubt. The trigger pull is so long and spongey and the trigger shoe has a huge curve to it and the trigger safety is hinged onto the huge curve/shoe itself.

The plus side to that, is that APEX Tactical has made one of the best triggers for the M&P to ever exist. In any gun for that matter. It’s out of the box comparable to any 2K 1911 trigger you want to put it up against. It comes with a bunch of springs to adjust the pull weight and feel. It has the option for a curved or straight trigger. Now offered in polymer and aluminum. For. the longest time, APEX was a must have part to immediately add to your M&P series gun. The downside. Is if you for some strange reason didn’t like the AEPX, you didn’t have very many options that were even close to being good.

Overwatch precision has now released a new trigger that for sure holds its own to the APEX. Even Timney has now released their own trigger with the same idea as their Glock trigger. If you are a M&P Shooter, then you need to get our and pick up one of these triggers and give them a try. You might end up taking a trigger you hated and it becoming the best one you’ve ever felt. We just got in both of these new triggers and even posted a comparison video on IG. You should head over there and check it out and if you do grab a new one, reach out and let us know how it feel/works/your thoughts.

SDS Imports has been working hard lately. They import lines of guns from places like Turkey and the Tisas line of firearms. Their newest guns are these PX-9s. All I can say about them is they are home runs for the price.

These guns retail at $400 and come with more features than any other gun at that price tag right now. They come with threaded or non threaded barrels. Trijicon RMR optic cuts, included magwell, one of the best triggers in a sub $500 gun I have ever felt, they take Sig P226 magazines and ship with a trigger guard holster and the ability to swap grip sizes like the VP9. The list just goes on and on.

For the price the trigger is phenomenal. Nice crisp and light break. Flat trigger shoe with a red trigger safety. The optic cut is for a RMR so all of the popular Holosuns and other various optics will fit. They have fiber optic sights that are nice and bright. The threaded version includes a thread protector and just in general the ability to run a comp or suppressor. There are many guns out there that do not even touch this feature list or price point. We have plans to get these guns out to the range and see if they hold up to actual shooting. We are thoroughly impressed though.

Take a stop into the showroom, pick one of these bad boys up and handle it for yourself. I forgot to mention they come in 3 different colors too. OD Greeen, FDE and of course Black. If you have experience with these already and we are just late to the game. Head over to our social media pages and let us know your thoughts on them!

Pretty much everybody in the entire firearms industry wants to go to Shot Show. It is the biggest gun show/trade show for our industry in the country. Plus it takes place every year in Las Vegas. A town known for well….. a lot of things. Basically you have several hundred vendors show up to release new product, do business deals, meet new people and then party after the show closes. What more could you ask for?

This was my first time getting to attend SHOT. So I can say I was easily the most excited I had ever been for anything, as an adult. This was my first chance to get out and meet all of the guys we have been emailing/ talking to and doing business with over the years. There is nothing more satisfying than finally getting to put a face to a name. Plus you get to see and put hands on all the new product being released before anybody else gets to. You get to see products other people have been sleeping on or even just find new products you didn’t know existed.

I spent 3 days at the show and saw probably 99% of all the booths. I wanted to just look at everything possible to make sure we weren’t missing out on something good. With the COVID times we are in, there were not a lot of new products from a lot of the booths. Some of the things we had heard about finally had samples and some things were finally given release dates. One thing we found consistent were the release of more handgun optics and carry size guns. Swampfox has an ACRO clone that looks great, Eotech released their first handgun optic and SDS Imports has a sub $1000 carry sized 1911 that feels like a $2000+ gun. These are all things we hope to get/carry this year!

While there were not a lot of new products. There were some older products that got minor upgrades/updates. The Magpul MBUS sights that have been the standard on guns for a long time. Get a whole new look and feel while retaining the same retail from before. Battle Arms development has their version of the “BAD” lever that will fit on all pre-existing bolt catches from them. Savior Equipment is releasing different sizes of the guitar case and refreshing some of their older backpack designs. Things we all look forward to seeing!

Let’s not forget the other part of SHOT. The fun stuff. After the show each day we had different invites to dinner and to parties with the companies we work with on a regular basis. We managed to make it to the Aero Precision party on Wednesday night. They rented out the Strip Club Shooting Range for us to enjoy. There was a food truck and machine gun shooting all night. We also got to shoot some of AERO’s new suppressors and bolt gun. They treated us well! It is always fun getting to go out and hangout with people in an environment that isn’t always business. Nice to have fun with coworkers every once in a while. Overall I would say SHOT SHOW 2022 was a success. We found a bunch of new products we want to carry and learned lots about things that will be released later this year. Hopefully some cool deals and products came out of it and we can’t wait to see what this year holds!