License to Own and Possess Firearm (LTOPF) Requirements Process - December 2016

The requirements for the License to Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF) as posted on December 2016 outside the Firearms and Explosives Divsion (FED) of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

I went thru the process of acquiring a License to Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF) and renew my Firearms Licenses recently, and it was one hell of a saga, hence I decided to go and blog about it. This will be the first of a couple of parts, probably three parts, we’ll see, and this first one covers only how I got the REQUIREMENTS, not the LTOPF itself, but just the requirements.

There are a couple of ways and outlets where one can go about getting these requirements, but I decided to just go directly to Camp Crame to make sure I followed the correct procedure, and hopefully to get it sooner also (how wrong I was, I found out later).

My Review of the Fab Defense Glock TacticSkin and Recoil Spring Buffer Part One

Right Side view of my Glock 22 with the Fab Defense TacticSkin.

Ever since Fab Defense released the Glock TacticSkin Slide Cover I think around last year, I have always wanted to have one, and I finally was able to acquire it recently.

'Unboxing'
In the tradition of those "unboxing" videos and pictures prevalent now in the internet for Gadgets and just about everything else, here is my unboxing picture of the TacticSkin. The package came with the following items:
- Clear, resealable bag
- Manufacturer's logo and promotional material on a cardboard rectangle
- The TacticSkin itself
- Recoil Spring Buffer
- Ultimate Arms Gear Sticker

The Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act Senate Bill No. 3397

It looks like the Anti-Gun lobby won a major, MAJOR victory for Gun Control under the PNoy Administration. One big problem with PNoy is that his financial backers, among them the rich and powerful Ayala clan, have Anti-Gun sentiments. In fact, rumors has it that Anti-Gun Advocates like Nandy Pacheco and his group has been pestering the Administration for tighter gun control laws as soon as he first stepped into office.

Now it looks like they finally got their wish thru the Administration's allies in the legislature, who has come up with the with the "Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act Senate Bill No. 3397". Here is a direct link to a copy of the law itself in full for everyone's reference: http://www.senate.gov.ph/lisdata/1507312687!.pdf

While everyone was talking and arguing about the Reproductive Health (RH) and Cyber Crime Bills, it seems the legislature quietly worked on this bill and got under everybody's radar as it has now PASSED BOTH houses as of February 5, 2013. There was NO NEWS of President Aquino vetoing this bill, so I ASSUME that this has NOW PASSED INTO LAW as our laws states that any bill passed by both houses and not vetoed after 30 days automatically becomes law. 30 days after February 5, 2013 was March 7, 2013, or around 2 months ago.

My Review of the KCI 31-round .40 caliber Magazine

The highest capacity magazines in .40 Caliber that Glock offers is only 22 rounds, so if you are looking for more than that you will need to at other manufacturers like KCI and their 31-round magazines. I got mine from a local source for only P2,500, much cheaper than the high-capacity magazines sold by Glock.

'Appearance and Finish'
The magazine's finish initially looks good, but if you look closer, you will see evidence of flashes on some areas. The material also seems to be different, or at least the "blend" is different compared to the original Glock Magazines. The Glock magazines have somewhat lighter, almost grayish color, while these magazines have a semi-gloss black color.

Appearance-wise, the main difference this magazine has compared to the factory magazine is the checkering on the sides of the magazines on the area starting from the bottom of the magazine well to the baseplate. I don't really like them that much, it sort of makes the magazine look a bit cheap. In terms of overall appearance, I prefer and find the factory Glock magazines to be better aesthetically.

Gun Envy: Tracking Point's Precision Guided Firearms

I was hit with another case of Gun Envy when I read that a company named "Tracking Point" has just announced a new class of firearms it calls "Precision Guided Firearms (PGF)". In simplest terms, these are basically firearms made to function similar to a video game. For more detailed information about these PGFs, refer to this excellently written article: Bullseye from 1,000 yards: Shooting the $17,000 Linux-powered rifle

I am just going to give my personal opinions, observations and views about these firearms as the above article already covered the technical details comprehensively. There has been similar systems in place over the years, I recall seeing one on the Discovery Channel's "Future Weapons" episode, for example, but none has been able to integrate digital technology to firearms as seamlessly and as smoothly as this one.


'Longbow and Crossbow Similarity'
The invention of these PGFs remind me of the history of the Longbow and the Crossbow. Longbows were THE penultimate range weapons in its day, but it had one main drawback, and that is was is difficult to master. The strings were hard to pull back, and as if that was not enough, you have to hold the weapon in tension as you aim it, before releasing it to its target.

My Review of the Fab Defense FGG-S-K

'Model Confusion'

Before anything else, let me just warn everyone that I find the details for the FGG-S-K to be highly confusing. I bought the grip from the Zahal.org website, and there the model description is the "FGG-S-K", but the actual product in picture is actually the "FGG-K" (click on the link below to access the page):
- http://www.zahal.org/products/tactical-expandable-folding-grip

"FGG-K" I presume means "Folding Grip Glock - KPOS" because it is used mainly with the KPOS Carbine Conversion Kits that Fab Defense also sells. The difference between the "FGG-S-K" and the "FGG-K" is that the former has a protrusion that allows it to index to the lower side of the frame and the front of the trigger guard. The "FGG-K" lacks this feature, and looks "cleaner" in appearance.

I also have a hard time finding any official and direct reference to the "FGG-S-K", even from the Fab Defense website, or its sister companies (CAA Tactical and Mako Group). So right now, I don't even know exactly what "FGG-S-K" stands for. I like products from Fab Defense, I have used a lot of it on my Glock, and they have all been quite satisfactory. So it sorts of mystifies me as to why they end up with a mess like this. 

My Review of the Aimtech APM-1 Glock Mount Part One

'Optic Sight Mount Selection'
There are about a dozen or so different designs from different manufacturers of Optic Sight Mounts for Glock Pistols, but I decided on the Aimtech APM-1 Mount as my preferred one for a number of reasons. The first and main reason is that it is a STATIC mount, meaning it is independent of the movement of the slide. The previous mount I used for my Burris Fast Fire 3 was a Slide Mount, but over time I discovered some issues with that type of mount after firing a couple of hundred rounds in full auto with it. I plan to discuss this more in detail at a future date somewhere in my blog, but suffice to say for now I decided to use one that would not require the FF3 to be mounted on top of the slide itself.

The second reason is the fact that it leaves the Glock's frame rails free for use with other accessories. Most Glock Optic Mount designs use the frame rails to anchor on to, but I use Vertical Front Grips (VFGs) on my Glock, hence I wanted that rail free. Some mounts that use the rail also allow VFGs to be mounted on them, but I found these to be ineffective (again, further discussion on my blog at a future date). The APM-1 uses the Trigger Pin and Trigger Housing Pin to anchor on to, leaving the rails free for use.

The third reason is that it anchors itself to two points (as mentioned earlier), making for a much more secure attachment. Be careful of using mounts that secure itself to only one point (i.e., like those using the Frame Rails only) as they are less secure and will likely tend to move around during actual firing and/or handling. Here is a close look at the mounting pins as they are attached to the frame.