The 1911 platform: the complete guide before you buy
Thumb safety, grip safety, nine rounds: what a 1911 really asks of you, what it gives back, and why reviewers increasingly argue for 9mm over .45.
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Gear, technique, and the shooting log.
9mm ammo: what 115, 124 and 147 grain actually change
Bullet weight changes recoil, how your pistol cycles and your power factor. What the manufacturer numbers say, and what reviewers report from the range.
Read moreDA/SA, single action only or striker-fired: which to choose
A hammer-fired pistol changes trigger between the first shot and the rest. A striker gun never does. What that actually costs you on the clock.
Read moreGlock 19: the complete guide before you buy
The most copied compact 9mm on the market: 24 ounces, 15 rounds, a trigger that divides. What it does well, what it does not, and who it suits.
Read morePistol malfunctions: read the symptom, then look for the cause
Slide out of battery, stovepipe, a round that will not fire, a double feed: each symptom, its immediate drill, and its causes ordered by real frequency.
Read morePistol reliability: attributing your malfunctions instead of enduring them
Three variables logged at each malfunction — pistol, ammunition lot, magazine — tell you what is at fault. The method, the rate per thousand, and its limits.
Read moreReloading log: recording your loads so they teach you something
Eleven columns, a printable template, and the one that changes everything: the group you shot. Recording a load without its result teaches nothing.
Read moreBeretta 92X Performance: the complete guide before you buy
Frame-mounted safety, open-top slide, 1,350 grams of steel: what the Performance changes over a 92FS, and how it stands against a CZ Shadow 2.
Read moreCompetition 9mm pistols compared: eleven guns side by side
Weight, trigger pull, capacity, optic readiness: eleven competition 9mm pistols on manufacturer figures, and the one criterion that actually decides.
Read moreCZ Shadow 2: the spec sheet against forty-three reviews
CZ lists a 3.4 lb single-action trigger, its own manual 10 N. Forty-three reviews say 2.0. What the catalogue states, what the range reports, why both hold.
Read moreDan Wesson DWX: the complete guide before you buy
A 1911 trigger on a CZ grip: the DWX targets CZ Shadow 2 shooters who want a single-action-only pistol without relearning how they hold one.
Read moreGlock 34: the complete guide before you buy
743 grams, a reliability record nobody disputes, a trigger that divides opinion: what the Glock 34 offers in competition and against heavier rivals.
Read moreCompetition pistol magazines: capacity, base pads and care
Real capacity, base pads, magwells and maintenance: the line item most competition shooters discover after buying the gun rather than before it.
Read moreCompetition pistol maintenance: the practical guide
How often to clean, which points to lubricate, what should never be stripped, and when to replace the wearing parts on a competition range pistol.
Read moreRed dots on competition pistols: how to choose one
What a red dot actually changes, the full cost including mounting, the footprints that matter, and which pistols take one without slide milling.
Read moreThe competition pistol trigger: a complete guide
Take-up, wall, overtravel, reset: what a trigger is actually made of, what adjusts, and why over-lightening one causes light primer strikes.
Read moreSmith & Wesson M&P: the complete guide before you buy
One of the softest recoil impulses in its class, a solid reliability record, a trigger that divides: what the M&P offers, and its competition version.
Read moreStaccato and the 2011 platform: the guide before you buy
What a 2011 is, why its trigger dominates competition, what it really costs once magazines are counted, and which price tier actually makes sense.
Read moreWalther PDP: the complete guide before you buy
From a 766-gram polymer to a 1,162-gram steel frame, the PDP range covers two opposite uses. What separates them, and which one fits the way you shoot.
Read moreChoosing your first sport shooting pistol: the measurable criteria
Weight, barrel length, trigger, caliber, legal category: the criteria that really decide a first sport shooting pistol, and what the first year costs.
Read moreWhat does sport shooting cost? The real budget of a first year
Licence, subscription, firearm, ammunition, equipment: the real budget of a first year of sport shooting, item by item, in sourced and dated ranges.
Read moreRenewing your FFTir licence: dates, EDEN and pitfalls
The August campaign, the licence visible on EDEN in September, the old one valid until the end of September: the real dates of an FFTir licence renewal.
Read moreShooting without a club: what an FFTir licence really requires
No, an FFTir licence is not issued without a club — the federation writes it itself. But two introductory sessions a year stay open to non-members.
Read moreWhich pistol for which FFTir discipline?
Weight, sight radius, sights, caliber: what the French federation's rulebooks require event by event, and the common pistols actually admitted.
Read moreCategory B firearm authorization: the full route, from file to renewal
The file, prefecture delays, five-year validity, renewal three months ahead: the complete route of a French Category B authorization, document by document.
Read moreThe SIA account and the sport shooter's digital gun rack
Creating your SIA account, getting your number, reading your digital gun rack: what the system sees of your firearms, and what it will never track for you.
Read more9mm, .38 Special, .357 Magnum or .45 ACP: which caliber for which event
Energy, cost per round, power factor, events allowed: the numbers behind 9mm, .38 Special, .357 Magnum and .45 ACP in sport shooting, compared and sourced.
Read moreIPSC in France (TSV): divisions, Minor/Major and how to start
Divisions, power factor, Minor or Major: how IPSC works in France, what practical shooting really demands of you, and where to actually begin.
Read moreThe official dimensions of sport shooting targets
Diameter of the 10 ring, spacing between two rings, size of the card: the official ISSF dimensions of 10 m, 25 m and 50 m targets, discipline by discipline.
Read more9mm or .22 LR: which caliber to start sport shooting with?
.22 LR costs about 30% less per round and recoils nine times less. 9mm opens other disciplines. How to choose, with the figures and the sources behind them.
Read moreThe FFTir medical certificate: what you ask your doctor to sign
One year of validity, two legal regimes: since 2022 the FFTir certificate also covers holding firearms. The wording to check, the calendar and the costs.
Read moreCategory B firearm and ammunition quotas: what the texts actually say
Since 2024 the quota is 15 Category B firearms, not 12. And the 3,000 rounds are per firearm, not per authorization. The texts, checked one by one.
Read moreFrench firearm categories A, B, C and D: decoding C1b, C3, C9 and C12
Firearm categories A, B, C, D: the C1b, C3, C9, C12 notation decoded heading by heading, with the six pivotal dates and the classification traps.
Read moreThe shooting logbook and the 3 controlled sessions: spacing counts as much as the number
Three controlled sessions at least two months apart, within the twelve months before the application: the corridor of dates set by the arrêté of 28 April 2020.
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