Sure Shots Magazine

ARCHIVE - ISSUE TWELVE - MAY 2015 COVER - FEATURED PICTORIAL - TRAINING - LIFESTYLE - REVIEWS ARCHIVE - ISSUE TWELVE - MAY 2015

Niki Jones
Editor-in-chief

Carrin Welch
Associate Editor
Web Designer

Jenna Johnson
Copy Editor

Becca Spinks
Content Lead

Cass Mascorro
Advertising Sales

Holly Gaylor
Advertising Sales

On the Cover,
Check out our health-conscious baker-turned-badass, Brenna, and the pics from her post-apocalyptic cover photo shoot.

We'll Keep the Light On for Ya
by Officer Ursula Williams

In 1993, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (Arizona) opened Tents Jail after deciding that he was not going to release any inmates due to overcrowding, a common practice in other detention and correction systems. Dubbed “Tent City,” it encompasses two units; In-Yard and Con-Tents. In-Yard houses inmates that have been sentenced to a year or less that are apart of the inmate labor workforce. The inmate labor workforce keeps inmate-housing costs down. Under the supervision of detention officers and civilians, inmates work in Food Factory, Laundry, various housekeeping services, MASH Unit (no-kill animal shelter), and Chain Gang. Con-Tents houses our “part-time” inmates—those who are sentenced to court appointed release programs, Work Furlough or Work Release.

Since its inception, over 500,000 people have served time in Tents.

When I first started my detention career with the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office in 2005, I didn’t dream of working at Tent City. It wasn’t until years later that I decided to work at as many different facilities and specialized duty posts in order to make me a well-rounded officer. I started my career in Madison Street Jail’s Psychiatric Unit, which is no longer open. Since then, I’ve worked Central Intake, Extraditions, and other facilities, all of which I’ve dealt with male and female inmates of different security classifications from juveniles to Special Management (a higher level of maximum security).

When my ten-year mark was approaching, I decided to submit a transfer to Tents. Why not? Sounded like an adventure.

Contrary to popular belief, it does get cold in Arizona. I started working graveyards at Tents in the dead of winter 2014. Prior to this, I was assigned to an indoor, temperature-controlled, medium security male facility for two years. I’ve always kept a hoodie in my car but this was a bone-chilling, Arctic kind of cold. I learned very quickly that layers keep you warm. Within a week of my arrival, I was sporting Under Armour’s ColdGear Infrared leggings and a mock turtleneck underneath my uniform, heavy 5.11 jacket and beanie, and North Face gloves. On New Year’s Eve 2014, we got rain and snow on the yard.

Having a great group of officers makes a world of a difference on those nights. Great conversations and jokes take your mind off of freezing your butt off while maintaining security on the yard. Those nights felt like the best camping trips…without the booze.

Currently, the inmate to officer ratio on the yard is roughly 100 to 1. While the inmates housed in In-Yard and Con-Tents are deemed as minimum security or low risk, they are still inmates. They are still capable of the unthinkable. Having that mindset as officers keeps us and other inmates safe. We constantly search the yard and inmates for contraband due to the constant movement to and from work and the accessibility to the public. I have seen more of a variety of contraband, such as marijuana Gummy Bears, Spice/K2, medication that was not prescribed, cigarettes, and coconut oil while working at Tents, than at any other facility that I’ve ever worked. (Yes, coconut oil—in January, I found a Zip-Lock bag full of coconut oil in a bra of a Work Release female when I conducted a pat search on her. She said it was for her hair.)

"Our 'Contraband Wall', which has different articles of contraband that was found on the yard including 'shanks', jail-made knives. NOTE, toothbrushes are much smaller now and are great for cleaning guns, when you accidentally take some home." -Ursula

One of the best things about Tents is being close to MASH II. MASH II holds livestock that is evidence in animal crimes or awaiting adoption. There are horses, donkeys, miniature horses and donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, llamas, etc. While these animals are in our custody, MASH officers, veterinarians, and working inmates rehab them if they were neglected. Some nights, I bring a five-pound bag of carrots and feed the horses and donkeys. It’s actually therapeutic.

As the summer months are quickly approaching, I’m excited for the Arizona summer challenges. Seasoned officers often tell stories of 115+ degree nights because of the rocks and concrete “cooking” all day.

I believe that every detention officer in the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office should work Tents at some point of their careers. I’ve learned more about the programs that we offer inmates, court-appointed release programs, Adult Probation, and experienced environmental challenges that I have never had before.

If you are in Phoenix, Arizona, we offer free tours during normal business hours. I would like to encourage all of you to visit.

Tents underneath the “Vacancy” sign.

Ursula Williams has been in law enforcement for over ten years. She is also a certified firearms instructor at a local gun range, holds several armorer certificates, and a competitive shooter in pistol, 3-Gun, and precision rifle. Outside of the shooting sports, she enjoys to traveling, skydiving, reading, and whiskey.

For more on the Tent City inmates’ infamous pink underwear, go to http://immigrationmexicanamerican.blogspot.com/2010/08/arpaio-admits-his-tent-city-is.html

SIAGA 3G: Kalashnikov USA's Contribution to 3-Gun
by Niki Jones

This year at SHOT Show, Kalashnikov USA showcased their new “3G”—a customizable Saiga 12 gauge specifically made for 3-Gun competition. The release of this gun was timely, as 3-Gun competition seems to be the hottest thing in the world of shooting sports right now.

Since SHOT Show, Kalashnikov USA Production Manager and 3G designer Jim Kelly has made even more modifications, including a top rail, which allows for the addition of optics, and an AR-style magwell.

The most significant modifications that make the 3G unique are the ones that reduce the recoil and rise in this gun—specifically the hefty Molot muzzle brake and the Phoenix Arms Kick-Lite 6 position recoil reduction buffer tube. These two additions, along with the mass of the gun in general, make for an incredibly smooth and comfortable shotgun. While the 3G is large, it doesn’t feel particularly heavy because the overall design of the gun is well-balanced. Its weight, empty, is 9lbs. 12ozs.

Located at the front end of the gas operating system is an adjustment with two settings (“1” and “2”). Setting #2 is for lighter target loads, and #1 is for heavy target loads. Slugs will run on either setting. The gun ships on Setting #2.

The first rounds through the gun were slugs, and they cycled fine. As for birdshot, this 3G seems to favor smoother (vs. ribbed) hulls. On setting #2, one brand that ran consistently without issue was Winchester AA Super Sport™ Target Load (Length: 2.75"; Velocity: 1300; 1 1/8 oz.; 8 Shot).

The addition of an AR-style magwell is so that theoretically there is a similarity between the rifle and shotgun magazine changes. However, since the Saiga is an AK platform, it still has a “rock and lock” system, so the AR-style magwell isn’t a true straight-up push/pull. The Saiga magazine has to be tilted to catch the front lip of the inside of the magwell, and then snapped back until it locks. This was certainly a challenge at the beginning, especially with the 10-round mag, which has more of a curve than the 5-rounder. Lots of repetition and practice to learn the exact cant required will most likely solve this challenge.

The Saiga 3G is an extremely solid, user-friendly gun. It runs like a beast, and its aesthetics certainly turn heads. It is currently available through Kalashnikov USA on a limited/special order basis, and retails for approximately $3,000.

Niki Jones's wrote about her introduction to this gun and her experience working with Jim Kelly to customize one specifically for her. Check it out at Breach Bang Clear.

Sure Shots AR-15 Build Project

The Sure Shots AR-15 Build Project is an ongoing project where the ladies of the Sure Shots build our own rifles—basically, our "dream guns"!

We feature a rifle from the Sure Shots AR-15 Build Project in each issue.

Here's Sure Shot Page's build, named "Val
(short for Valentine)"

- Rock River Arms - lower receiver, national match 2-stage trigger, Elite Comp handguard, Operator CAR stock, Tactical muzzle brake
- Yankee Hill Machine - Forged 7075-T6 Flat Top Upper Receiver with M4 feed ramps and "T" marked, 16” 4140 steel diamond-fluted barrel, BCG, 9680 flip rear sight, 9627 flip front sight, charging handle
- MagPul - MOE-K grip, PTS XTM and PTS rail covers, enhanced trigger guard, modified sling
- ERGO - Never Quit magwell grip
- Vortex - OPMOD StrikeFire II Red Dot with Cantilever AR-15 Mount 4MOA Red/Green Dot
- Underground Tactical dust cover

Shooting the Shooter: Photographer Oleg Volk
by Eric Saperstein

The world of competitive shooting is experiencing a growth in popularity, thanks in part to the work of photographers who follow the athletes capturing split seconds in frozen frames, sharing the experience with the fans around the world through publications and social media. Competitive shooting is not yet a spectator sport, leaving the public view to the skills of men like Oleg Volk.

I had the privilege of working with Oleg on a project for Youth Shooters of America, a newly-formed organization dedicated to promoting the careers and recreational activities of junior shooters.

Oleg embraces his personal understanding of our future through his lens and presents this vision to us. "I have a passion to distilling the most interesting aspects of life into images designed to motivate and to mobilize for action."

Q&A with Oleg Volk

1. We discussed your use of a Sony A7 series, mirrorless camera, please expand on your choice of camera body.

I started doing photography at age 7 with my father's FED rangefinder. Later, I switched to a Zenit SLR. Upon moving to the US in 1989, I used a wide variety of cameras, eventually settling on EOS bodies because I liked them over the others. Eventually, I continued with digital Canons because D30 was the first affordable DSLR and I already had compatible lenses. I upgraded regularly up to 5Dmk2 but elected not to go to 5Dmk3 because the advantages seemed minimal. Two 5Dmk2 bodies were largely sufficient to my needs until I started seeing my photos enlarged to 10 by 15 feet and larger at trade shows like SHOT and NRAAM. Since Canon lacks bodies with resolution over 22MP, I went with a Sony A7R 36MP mirrorless for studio work. I have one native Sony lens for it and an adapter for using Canon glass. This provides a stopgap solution for getting detail. Eventually, I expect to upgrade to a newer, higher-resolution Canon body.

2. Many of us work with shooters and we tend to use a portrait lens and come in close to our subject. Your setup included a telephoto lens, and you established a greater distance. What advantage are you gaining?

Longer lenses -- I use a 70-200/2.8 and 300/2.8 with 1.4x tele converter, which allows me to select a smaller section of the background, and also to de-focus it more. Additionally, longer lenses keep me further away from concussive muzzle brakes, and keep the changes in magnification of moving shooters to a minimum. The trade-off is that much more deliberate technique is required to get sharp and detailed images.

3. What was the most challenging photo shoot you ever engaged in? Are events of this nature still a rush?

Generally, challenges are of technical rather than conceptual nature. Weather, lighting, fast subject motion, inadequately trained models or poor acting all add up to an occasional challenge, especially if the event is also under time constraints. I've also had product shoots with such simple objects as knives and ammunition boxes that took several days to work out a lighting solution. I enjoy creative problem solving, but prefer to work under less challenging conditions because I seek results more than I relish the process.

Shyanne Roberts

Vanessa Aguilar

Moriah Combs

4. Your work is known throughout the firearms industry, providing examples of products, professional shooters, events, and educational campaigns. What is your personal favorite of these categories?

I support a number of domestic and foreign pro-RKBA campaigns. Knowing that I helped defeat anti-gun referendums in Brazil and Switzerland makes me happy. I also facilitated transitions to shall-issue or Constitutional carry laws in several US states. I work on so many commercial advertising campaigns that it's hard for me to single out one of them, but I do enjoy seeing multiple bigger than life displays with my photos at trade shows. At NRAAM, contributing a substantial portion of Project Appleseed outreach made my day.

5. What is the most challenging, or stressful, factors when planning and executing a live fire photo shoot?

With live fire, the issues are lighting and timing. Direct sunlight, especially coupled with patchy shade, is a complicating factor. Bright, detailed ad banners and orange safety fences at competitions are visual distractions. Odd facial expressions that many shooters make when concentrating can be a problem as well.

6. Selecting one photo from your portfolio, which we can share in this feature. Can you share the story and the meaning to you? What makes this one image standalone from your portfolio?

This has been one of my best-known images. The 9 year old shown in it is 22 now but most of the kids who had to take up arms in 1943 Warsaw ghetto uprising (and the 1944 overall Warsaw uprising) never got to grow up. It's a reminder that personal weapons and the will to use them can be the last argument of a peaceful individual against the overreaching state.

7. You’ve achieved a top-tier ranking as a photographer, especially in the firearms industry. What are your aspirations going forward?

I am a creative director who happens to be a passionate photographer. I communicate with words as well as images. I also consult several of my clients on technical aspects of gun design. I'd like to have greater involvement with my favorite clients and do projects with larger scope. That aspiration is quickly becoming a reality.

Eric Saperstein is a lifetime shooter, Second Amendment advocate, county coordinator for NJ2AS, life member of the NRA, and author. He is the Social Media/PR Director for Shyanne Roberts and General Defense Outfitters. Eric brings nearly three decades of firearms, small business, corporate, and marketing experience to the board of YSA. He is also a Master Craftsman, owning one of the nation’s premier handcrafted studios, as well as a photographer and filmmaker.