This is good news. The mechanism to restore firearms rights for felons at the federal level has been gutted for 3 decades leaving those who have turned their lives around stuck without second amendment protections unless they can get a pardon.
I see alot of posts in here about getting smithing work done. While I have some pistols done by places like Landers Weapons Systems (excellent by the way) I do prefer to support local and small businesses when I can. I have recommended Titan Tactical in the past and I just wanted to show a few examples of the work they've done for me.
Glock 17 Gen 5:
Ported and cut for an SRO.
Glock 19x:
Cut for a 507 Comp.
Stealth Arms Platypus:
Ported
Glock 45:
Cut for an ACRO, will likely be ported soon.
These aren't all of the guns he's done for me but these are some favorites.
Marc Krebs of Krebs Custom in Wauconda, IL passed away Sunday. He made some of the most baddass AKs around and he continued to run his business in IL despite all the BS over the years. May he rest in peace.
Wishing you all a safe and fun 4th. Watch your fingers!
Show me some of your salty guns. I personally love when I've had and shot a gun long enough that it starts to show the degree of use.
Platypus is my primary pistol for shooting comps and teaching classes. Runs like a top, especially after some porting and tuning from Titan. I've shot alot of DS1911s and 2011s and this is my favorite.
G26 has been one of my main EDCs for the better part of a decade. Being able to easily conceal something that can take a G19 or 17 mag as a backup is nice and I feel that it shoots well for a gun of its size.
G45 is my duty pistol and backup teaching gun. I've shot the absolute hell out of this thing to the point that a while back the magazine release broke in half while doing some dry fire drills.
Our first-ever Vehicle Defense Course is coming to the ISRA on August 9th and 30th.
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This course will cover the fundamentals of shooting in and around vehicles, navigating in and out of a car, and scenario-based drills designed to expose students to problems they may realistically encounter.
To provide a more engaging experience and maximize instructor interaction, class sizes will be limited. Alumni sign-up notifications have already gone out, and once those spots are filled, any remaining openings will be made available to the public.
Stay tuned for more information and be ready to secure your spot.
Registration will be available at www.commoncaliber.com
Back by popular demand!
A lot of folks reached out after our Girls Only class in May and told us they weren't able to make it, so we're bringing it back!
On Sunday, July 26th, we'll be returning to the Will County Sportsman's Club for another run of Girls Only.
Whether you're brand new to firearms or looking to build confidence and improve your skills, this class is designed to provide a safe, welcoming, and educational environment for women shooters.
You can sign up now for:
-Girls Only -Basic Rifle -Advanced Pistol & Rifle
We can't wait to see you on the range!
Common Caliber Basic Rifle is coming to the Will County Sportsman's Club on Sunday, July 12th at 9:00 AM.
This entry-level course is designed to cover the fundamentals of rifles, including the different types of rifles, safe handling practices, loading and unloading procedures, basic maintenance and cleaning, and of course plenty of time behind the gun with practical shooting exercises.
Whether you've just purchased your first rifle or want to build a stronger foundation with one you've owned for years, this class is designed to help you become a safer and more capable shooter.
Cost: • $75 for Will County Sportsman's Club members
• $100 for non-members
Loaner rifles will be provided free of charge, and ammunition will be available at our cost. If you need a loaner, please let us know ahead of time so we can ensure we have enough rifles and ammunition available for everyone.
We look forward to seeing you on the range.
You can sign up today at www.commoncaliber.com
I understand that firearms, especially for new shooters, can be both overwhelming and cost-prohibitive, but I want to stress that compromising on quality to save money can be a compromise on your life, especially when it comes to anything you'd use in a defensive capacity.
Amazon and eBay are not places I recommend buying firearms accessories. Both platforms allow third-party sellers and returns, which can make counterfeit products difficult to identify and can result in fake equipment ending up in the hands of unsuspecting buyers, sometimes for the same price as the real thing.
With eBay sales, I often see people buying because they think they're getting a deal. People buying from Amazon are usually paying retail price but want the instant gratification of two-day shipping.
Don't buy your gear and accessories from anyone except licensed retailers or the manufacturer itself. The pictures I attached are of a Streamlight TLR-1 HL that was purchased on eBay. The material, construction, and packaging were all clear indicators that it wasn't authentic.
The Steiner MPS was purchased on Amazon. It also had poor construction and materials, along with several marking variations. The packaging was virtually indistinguishable from an authentic unit, so I'm fairly certain it was purchased, swapped, and returned, which is a significant issue with Amazon.
I don't care whether you buy your equipment from me or someone else, but please make sure you're buying from a reputable source. Even if you choose to buy used, there are plenty of places to find quality equipment that is actually genuine.
Saving a few dollars isn't worth betting your safety on counterfeit equipment. Buy once, cry once, and make sure the gear you trust your life to is actually what it claims to be.
Class development days are some of our favorites. We don't teach classes without making sure everything flows together, and we don't ask our students to do anything we aren't capable of ourselves.
Today we spent time refining the curriculum for Advanced Rifle, which is coming up on July 5th. We also worked through drills and scenarios for our upcoming Defensive Vehicle class. Both are shaping up to be excellent courses.
Our goal is to offer a broad variety of defensive shooting classes that take concepts used by military and law enforcement professionals and present them in a way that is practical and applicable to situations everyday citizens may actually encounter.
Registration for Advanced Rifle is open now, and information for the Defensive Vehicle class will be available soon.
Thank you for supporting and training with Common Caliber. Stay safe.
As I've said before, I like to make training accessible for regular people. When we started Common Caliber, it was with the idea that quality training beyond basic firearms knowledge should be available to everyone.
We have no shortage of classes and qualified instructors in this area. While I generally see solid turnout at courses, I don't see as many people taking advantage of those opportunities as I would like. Not for my benefit, but for theirs.
On our end, we do everything we can to remove barriers. We keep classes affordable, offer loaner firearms, holsters, magazine pouches, and magazines when needed, and provide ammunition at our wholesale cost for classes that require it. I'm not looking to become a millionaire doing this. I have a full-time job. I teach because I genuinely enjoy watching everyday people improve their skills, build confidence, and become safer, more capable gun owners.
This also isn't a post about Common Caliber specifically. I don't care who you train with as long as they're reputable instructors putting on a quality class. There are plenty of good people teaching in this area, and I think all of us benefit when more shooters seek out professional instruction.
So I'll ask the question directly: Why aren't you training?
What's holding you back from regularly attending classes and developing your firearms skills beyond mag dumping into trash or shooting paper targets for fun?
Is it a lack of free time? Cost? Limited access to firearms or ammunition? Do you feel intimidated because you're new? Are you concerned you won't be good enough? Or is it something else entirely?
I'm genuinely curious, what keeps you from seeking out professional instruction and continuing to improve your skills?
Collaborative efforts help all of us, both students and instructors. Today, Common Caliber and Titan Tactical hosted our joint Intro to Red Dot class for 13 students of varying skill levels. Rather than competing and hosting separate classes on the same day, we combined our resources, knowledge, and skill sets to provide students with an opportunity to build and improve their abilities with red dot equipped pistols.
Students worked on the fundamentals of presentation and the draw stroke before moving into drills focused on throttle control, target transitions, and optic failure management. The day concluded with a timed drill, with the top three shooters taking home Common Caliber patches.
We would like to thank each and every one of you who came out, as well as those who continue to support Common Caliber and our training partners. Stay safe, and we'll see you on July 5th for Advanced Rifle.
In honor of the state of Colorado putting the Q Fix series on their list of prohibited assault weapons, I had to take my high-capacity assault bolt gun to the range today in solidarity for my Colorado homies.
We still have a few spots left in our Intro to Red Dot class on May 31st with Titan Tactical, and registration is now open for our Advanced Pistol and Rifle course on July 5th.
In honor of Memorial Day weekend, we're offering discount codes for both classes at checkout on www.commoncaliber.com
Use code MEMORIAL10 for 10% off either class.
If you are military, a veteran, or a first responder, use code THANKYOU15 for 15% off.
I'm not requiring ID verification for the 15% code, so be honorable and don't lie for an extra 5%.
Saturday was Common Caliber’s second run of Girls Only, our basic pistol class designed for and focused on new women shooters.
We built this class for two reasons.
First, we have found that many women enjoy a training environment made up of other women. In our experience teaching brand new shooters in CCL classes and other basic pistol courses, men who have never shot before can suddenly become firearms experts the second a woman is in the class. Not only is that annoying, it can be distracting and can make new shooters hesitate to continue training in the future.
Second, this class is rooted in the entire reason we started Common Caliber.
While we enjoy training everyone, law enforcement and other professionals who carry as part of their job often have more opportunities to train. That training may be provided by an agency, paid for by an agency, done on agency time, or some combination of all three.
These five women did not have that luxury.
These five women are mothers and working regular jobs. In just one day, they went from having maybe shot a couple of times, or never having handled a firearm at all, to running advanced drills.
We felt it would be a disservice to beat them over the head all day with basic strings of fire at 5 and 7 yards. Once the basics were locked in, these ladies were ready to turn it up.
By the end of the course, they were engaging multiple targets, working through malfunctions, shooting from varying positions, shooting on the move, and more.
Every one of them was smiling and laughing, and it was truly a pleasure for us to teach them.
With or without roadblocks and barriers set in place by our state to restrict firearms ownership, we do our best to make sure quality training is available and accessible to everyday people living everyday lives.
Make sure you train. Make sure your mom trains. And let that training be with Common Caliber.
Looks like ol' uncle Mark has been sniffing snow again. The fine folks over at Cowboy Geissele have now debuted a new bolt gun based off their LT rifles that is 50 state legal. LaRue products are solid so this probably wouldnt be a bad move if you wanted a mag fed bolt gun in a common cartridge.
TL;DR: Cocaine Cowboy DS-15 dropped.
Sign up is now live for Common Caliber’s Advanced Pistol and Rifle course on July 5th, 2025 at the ISRA in Bonfield, IL.
This intermediate level course is designed to bring handgun and rifle skills together so students can effectively employ both systems in a defensive environment. Students will work on rifle to pistol and pistol to rifle transitions, shooting on the move, shooting from cover, engaging multiple targets, malfunction remediation, and operating under stress.
While there are no prerequisite courses required, this is NOT an entry level class. Students are expected to have a fundamental understanding of handgun manipulation, holster draws, rifle handling, and sling usage.
Required Equipment:
• Rifle
• 3 Rifle Magazines
• Sling
• Handgun
• Holster
• 3 Handgun Magazines
• Magazine Carriers
• 200 Rounds of Rifle Ammunition
• 200 Rounds of Pistol Ammunition
• Eye and Ear Protection
Loaner equipment and ammunition are available on a limited basis with advanced notice.
Registration is open now at www.commoncaliber.com.
I've had an RXM in my loaner rotation for a while now and I've been very happy with it. When Flux teased that they were coming out with a Raider for the RXM, I snagged a full size RXM in anticipation of the release. Unfortunately, I'm impatient, and the perpetual "soon" wasn't doing it for me anymore, so when JL Billet announced theirs, I picked one up to hold me over.
It's a bit pricey at $450, but the quality is nice. My only complaint so far is that it doesn't come with pins, a mag release, or springs, so you have to harvest them from the existing module. I think that's pretty wild at this price point considering Magpul includes them with their $40 modules.
Going to get some range time with it today and I'll report back.
Vetting your instructors is important. The bar that the state sets to become a concealed carry instructor is very low, and there are a lot of people out there willing to just rubber stamp an application and send you on your way for a fee.
Personally, I don’t love teaching concealed carry classes because it’s a lot of talking and not enough shooting, and I don’t reasonably believe you can teach a brand new shooter everything they truly need to know in just 16 hours. But I still teach it because it is the only legal avenue for people to carry in Illinois, and I believe everybody deserves the opportunity to exercise that right regardless of the red tape the state puts in the way.
I’ve had countless people approach me asking for 16-hour certificates without taking the class, and I’ve received offers as high as $1,000. I will never do it. It’s a disservice to you, to myself, to quality instructors, and to every student I’ve previously taught.
Remember, if a concealed carry instructor gets caught committing fraud and issuing fraudulent certificates, the Illinois State Police can revoke their instructor credentials in addition to any criminal charges they may face. ISP can also revoke the concealed carry licenses of individuals that instructor has taught within the previous five years.
Make sure you are getting your concealed carry training and all other firearms instruction from a reputable and competent instructor.
Another opportunity to get your Concealed Carry License with Common Caliber is coming up. On Saturday, June 6th and Sunday, June 7th from 8am to 4pm, we will be conducting another CCL class. This class will cover firearms basics, state and federal firearms law, concealed carry law, self defense law, and will include a live fire exercise.
You can sign up now on www.commoncaliber.com