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From time to time there is information that we think will be of interest to owners and prospective owners of our pistols. Sometimes it's answers from the "Questions for Larry Seecamp" board at The Seecamp Forum. Other times, it's replies we've made to inquiries sent to us by email. Always, we hope it's insight that you will find useful and informative. Simply click on any of the headings below to go the detailed explanation pertaining to that topic.
If shot placement is so important, why no sights? An exhaustive NYPD report (NYPD SOP 9) revealed that in 70% of recorded police shootings (the majority under poor lighting conditions) officers did not use sights while 10% of the time officers didn’t remember whether sights were used. In the remaining 20% of the cases, officers recollected using some form of visual aid to line up the target ~ which could be the sights themselves or just the barrel. The NYPD statistics showed no correlation between an officer’s range scores and his ability to hit a suspect at close range. The mean score for NYPD police officers (1990-2000) for all shootings is fifteen hits per 100 shots fired, which is almost the identical hit ratio seen among Miami officers ~ who in the years 1990-2001 fired some 1300 rounds at suspects while recording fewer than 200 hits. Almost unbelievably, some NYPD figures show 62% of shots fired at a distance of less than six feet were complete misses. The 1988 US Army training manual for pistols and revolvers [FM 23-35], in apparent recognition of the disconnect between sighted shooting at the range and the ability to score hits in short distance combat, wisely calls for point shoot training at distances of less than fifteen feet. The ability to shoot targets at 25 yards using sights sadly seems to provide little or no advantage in close combat. Nor are there recorded instances where an officer required a reload in close combat. When reloads do occur, there is no immediate threat to the officer’s safety and the perpetrator has usually barricaded himself in a defensive posture. A study by Etten and Petee (l995) showed that neither large capacity magazines nor the ability to reload quickly was a factor in shootings. Speed reloads at short ranges just don’t happen, and practicing paper punching at long ranges using sights appears to prepare one for short range conflict to the same degree it prepares one for using flying insect spray. (Hitting an annoying yellow jacket buzzing a picnic table without spraying the guests or the food might be better practice for combat than long range paper punching. So might a plain old-fashioned water pistol fight.) In the FWIW department, of 250 NYPD police officers killed in the line of duty in the years 1854-1979 there was only one instance where it could be determined an officer was slain at a distance of over 25 feet ~ by a sniper 125 feet away. Of the 250 fatal encounters, 92% took place under fifteen feet and 96.4% under 25 feet. In the remaining eight instances the distance was unknown. But how do I qualify at 75 feet without sights? If you hold the LWS pistol at a 45-degree angle semi-gangsta style
there is a groove formed that can be used as a sighting tool Using sights at shorter ranges invites problems In order to use sights a shooter has to put at least one hand in front of their face. This obstructs the view behind the hand they have placed there. When the focus is on the upper torso of the threatening individual, the lower portion of that person is partially or completely hidden from view by this deliberately chosen visual obstruction. The closer the target, the greater is the degree of visual impairment that may cause the shooter to fail to recognize potentially important information below the sight picture. Statistics show pistol sights generally go out the window once shooting starts; however, this does not mean sights are not used prior to the commencement of hostilities. We can see on reality TV police programs numerous instances where officers in a Weaver stance point guns at suspects who are in absurdly close proximity to them. With both hands in front of one’s face, one is less able to recognize whether a possible threat is reaching for a gun or a wallet when the landscape below the target area is blocked from view. One might perceive movement but one cannot see what is being moved. There is no doubt in my mind accidental shootings of unarmed individuals have in many instances been caused by sight shoot training, in which a trained focus on a clear sight picture leaves one necessarily with an incomplete view of the important overall scenario. The potential hazard of losing perspective of the complete picture of the environment is well illustrated by American Matthew Emmons. He lost what appeared to be a safe Gold medal in the 2004 Olympics by shooting, with great accuracy, holes in his neighbor’s target. Overmuch concentration on the bull’s eye, which can be achieved with sights that exclude distracting but possibly important stimuli, may assist in hitting what one is aiming to hit but it can do so at the great cost of making an improper choice of target. Suggestions for achieving proficiency Other than range practice of point shooting at realistic combat distances (under fifteen feet), here’s what you can do to achieve proficiency, making sure you are using an unloaded pistol:
Most of those who buy pistols for self defense shoot infrequently. At the distance at which handguns are likely to be used for self-defense this doesn’t bother me as much as it perhaps should. Who doesn’t have a shotgun or some other weapon stashed away, seldom or never used, that they wouldn’t hesitate to bring center stage if there was a forced house entry. People who buy pepper spray and Mace don’t normally feel the need to practice a thousand squirts to feel comfortable they can hit an assailant. And, as mentioned, the studies seem to show little practical benefit from long distance range practice. I’d rather go up against a target shooter than an individual who plays occasional paintball. (Return to top of page) What kind of materials are used in the manufacture of Seecamp pistols? As for materials:
The cast parts (slide, frame, trigger, hammer, magazine safety and
magazine catch) are all made of 415 stainless, which is a special 400
series blend that is also used by other manufacturers like Ruger. All
pistols with a serial number higher than 31000 are made of this
material. We had previously used 416 for the frame (used to make
knives and gun parts) and 17-4PH (used extensively in the aircraft
industry) for the slide and small parts. When can we expect CA/MA compliant LWS 380 pistols, and what takes so long? Some of our best friends live in Massachusetts.
We definitely plan to get legal there and in California. Do you offer custom grips for your pistols? Or do you know anyone who does? A question frequently asked in private emails concerns custom grips. Do we have any? Where can we get some made? The grips we use are made of nylon reinforced with glass fiber. Good authority has told me this is essentially the same type of composition that goes into making plastic framed guns. Nylon is just about unbreakable but it is very pliable. One can take a pure nylon comb and twist it every which way without breaking it. Glass fiber is added to give the grips rigidity. The result is grips that are very tough and as a result can be made very thin. When other materials are used, the kind used in custom grip fabrication, the grips have to be made much thicker and then still usually don't have anywhere near the strength of the factory grips. Wood has grain and is weak along the grain. Having grips made of traditional cosmetically pleasing wood is nice if you don't plan to shoot the LWS pistol. If you do plan to shoot it, about the best you can do without making the gun ultra fat is to choose the grain direction along which you'd prefer the grip to break. The right grip panel is no problem, but the left grip panel helps support the mechanism and that's the panel likely to break. As for the custom grips made of other materials I've seen, they haven't appealed to me. I broke the left grip panel of one pair of very fat imitation ivory grips here at the shop while putting the grips back on the gun. As is my usual habit, I gave the grip a light tap to seat it tightly against the frame and it split. I'd be facing a labor board hearing if I called any employee what I was calling myself that day. We've had sample grips made in other colors besides black but none of these appealed to me. The whites got dirty very quickly and looked more like they were spray painted than made of ivory. Ditto on the spray painted look for the other colors. We plan to get our own plastic molding machine and
to fabricate grips in-house. A couple of plastic wizard LWS owner
friends will help guide me. This made in-house shift will allow us
to experiment with simulated wood coloring, but my guess is
simulated wood will look like simulated wood and not the real thing.
(Return to top of page) How frequently do the trigger and recoil springs need to be replaced? The trigger spring (drawbar
spring) should last indefinitely in all caliber models. What comes in the box with a new Seecamp pistol?
Instruction manual
If a Seecamp is dropped anywhere on the gun and there is a round The LWS designs use an inertial firing pin in
which the firing pin does not touch the primer when the hammer is
fully forward. The firing pin is very light and the rearward
pressure of the firing pin spring is substantial relative to the
weight of the pin.
Is the disassembly/reassembly
the same Yes, except that the .25 has a single recoil
spring and a guide rod instead of the dual reverse wound recoil
springs. (Return to top of page) Will dry-firing my LWS32 do any damage?
The short answer is no. We recommend dry firing as a good way to
hone shooting skills. Does keeping a magazine loaded weaken the magazine spring? More stress is probably placed on a magazine spring by shooting only one full magazine at the range than in keeping the magazine completely loaded for ten or twenty years. The shock absorbers on a car or truck are not likely to suffer much damage if the vehicle is kept stationary ~ regardless of the load to which the shocks are subjected. Putting the car on a lift when it's parked won't do much to prolong the life of the shock absorbers. If, however, the vehicle is taken for drives on very bumpy roads, the shocks become stressed and may in time suffer enough damage to warrant their replacement. Magazine springs, similarly, are insignificantly stressed by keeping the magazine loaded. They are much more stressed when the pistol is fired. Unloading the magazine, rotating magazines, etc., is akin to parking a vehicle on a lift to spare the shock absorbers. Magazine springs are one length when they are first wound. They take on a set and their extended length becomes shorter when they are compressed manually to their solid height. This second extended height is the same whether the spring is very briefly compressed to solid height or held completely compressed for a year. Shooting a single magazine through the pistol will shorten the magazine spring beyond the above mentioned second extended height, whereas keeping the spring compressed for a year will not.
Shooting hot or heavy recoil producing ammo puts more stress on a
magazine spring than shooting lighter loads. It is the bumpier road. (Return to top of page) Whether hollow point bullets expand or not, there is still a hollow point shock value advantage. When shooting hollow point ammunition, air becomes trapped and compressed inside the cup as the bullet speeds through the air. This pressure exerts itself outwardly against the side walls of the cup. If enough of it were present, the cup would expand or explode on the way to the target. Simultaneously, there is a far more moderate degree of inward pressure on the cup created by the outside bullet taper. The discrepancy in pressure exists because the air on the outside of the cup is allowed to pass while the air on the inside is trapped. The bigger the cup and the smaller the outside taper, the greater is the force for explosion versus the force for implosion. Soft bullet material, a thin walled cup, a cup weakened through expansion cuts or an aerodynamically streamlined cup to reduce the implosion force, all encourage bullet expansion or explosion ~ as also does increased bullet speed. Greater bullet speed means a greater tendency for expansion or explosion. From a practical point of view, there is an upper limit to the benefit of bullet speed. There is a point at which increased bullet speed offers no benefits or even a negative benefit in stopping power ~ for example, a light weight bullet that disintegrates on impact. Expansion or explosion work against penetration. Bullet penetration is reduced by expansion and even more so by explosion. When a hollow point bullet hits the target it can do a number of things depending largely on the medium it hits. Ideally, the hollow point bullet hits soft tissue and the compressed air/tissue inside the cup cause the bullet to expand. Along with this, without or without expansion, comes an increased temporary wound cavity. Trapped air/tissue inside the cup and the aerodynamics of the cup create a larger temporary wound cavity than is created by a streamlined ball bullet. Wadcutters have been shown to be more effective as man stoppers than ball. Their aerodynamics tend to create a bigger temporary wound channel. Traditional hollow points have only minimal if any expansion on hitting denim clothed ballistic gelatin. This is a good thing because it means if the assailant is wearing heavy clothing, penetration is increased. The downside is reduced or no expansion. With this increased penetration and non-expansion, however, there is still an increased temporary wound channel. Just because a hollow point bullet fails to expand does not mean it is less effective than a ball bullet. Air blowers are equipped with safety nozzles because air hoses are dangerous and can kill people. Workers have thought it funny to goose someone with an air hose and have blown co-worker’s intestines apart. The stopping power value of trapped air/tissue in a hollow point should not be underestimated, even when the bullet does not expand. Expansion, with traditional hollow points, is most on unclothed gelatin. This is good ~ there is penetration with heavy clothing and expansion with light clothing. I recommend traditional hollow point ammunition ~ Gold Dot, Hydra Shok, Hornady, Silver Tips. I’m wary of "high performance" and home-brewed ammunition that show extraordinary performance under staged conditions. FWIW: One would think a .50 caliber Barrett would be the ideal combat weapon in any encounter. Not so, according to tests done by the TV show Myth Busters. If an enemy dives under water, using a muzzle loader from the Civil War is a greater threat to that individual than a .50 caliber Barrett. The .50 caliber rounds hit the water at such speed that the water acts like a solid. The slower moving muzzle loaders penetrate much further in the water. To sum up, there is no ideal cartridge, there is no ideal caliber and there is no ideal gun. For a close range self-defense pistol, I think we do okay. The most important thing in any defense pistol is that the pistol go bang when the trigger is pulled each time it is pulled. Ammo choice is secondary. My advice on ammo: Always go with the ammo that works most reliably over the ammo that impresses in staged tests. (Return to top of page)
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