Huu Can Tran used a decades-old gun like this M11/9 (bottom) during his murderous attack.
At 10:22 p.m. on Jan. 21, 2023, a 72-year-old Vietnamese-born man named Huu Can Tran walked into the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, Calif., with a Cobray M11/9 9mm pistol.
A cursory analysis of his gun in retrospect showed that it was a fairly unremarkable example of the genre configured with a 32-round box magazine and what appeared to be a homebuilt sound suppressor. The man wore a black leather jacket along with an oversized knit beanie. Without uttering a word, Tran opened fire on the assembled crowd gathered to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Police arrived three minutes after the first 911 call. In that brief interim, Tran fired 42 rounds, killing 10 innocent people at the scene. Another person later died at the hospital. A further nine were badly wounded.
Ming Wei Ma, the owner of the dance studio, charged the shooter in a heroic attempt to stop the carnage. He was later counted among the dead. A dancer named Yu Kao also perished attempting to shield others from danger. There was ample courage exhibited on the part of the victims. Huu Can Tran fled the scene.
Seventeen minutes later, this homicidal maniac walked into the Lai Lai Ballroom in Alhambra, some three miles from the scene of the initial shooting. As he entered this facility, he encountered a 26-year-old computer programmer named Brandon Tsay. Tsay saw the man with the gun and reacted immediately, wresting the weapon from the killer’s hands. He then threatened the shooter with the captured firearm and chased him away. His heroic actions were rightfully praised across the country.
Huu Can Tran left the second scene in a white Chevrolet Express 3500 cargo van. As you might imagine, local, state and federal law enforcement were by now thoroughly energized. The local sheriff later described the seized weapon as “an assault pistol with an extended magazine clip.” Sigh …
The following afternoon some 22 miles distant, local police made a traffic stop of a white van meeting the description of Tran’s getaway vehicle. The van’s license plates appeared to have been stolen. As police officers approached the vehicle, they heard a single gunshot. They retreated and wisely called for the SWAT team.
Huu Can Tran had shot himself in the head with what sounds like a Norinco Tokarev TT-33 7.62x25mm handgun. While he had a tenuous connection to the two dance studios, and there was some rumor of an ex-wife in the mix, as of this writing, nobody has any idea why he did this horrible thing. Tran was the second-oldest mass shooter in American history.
A top-quality compact concealed carry gun like this
Springfield Armory Hellcat RDP is my constant companion.
In the aftermath of such egregious carnage, everyone of all political stripes waxes introspective. The sordid question of what might have been done to have prevented such a tragedy weighs heavily on us all. Amidst a sea of vapid platitudes put forth by sundry politicians, I would suggest the one thing that might have actually stopped such a horrific event. That would be to have had this loser attempt his gutless assault not in California but in my own home state of Mississippi.
The gun and the magazine were likely already illegal in the Golden State. The homemade sound suppressor was most definitely contraband. And then there’s the obvious fact that shooting people is against the law. Laws did not stop this maniac. Laws did not even slow him down. The only thing that could have conceivably ended this lunatic’s rampage would have been an armed citizen. Unlike California, we have plenty of those down where I live.
Ours is a nation of 328 million people. It is estimated that we own around 400 million guns. We cannot be compared to such countries as Japan, Australia, Holland, and the UK because we are so fundamentally dissimilar to those places. No amount of hand-wringing or well-intentioned legislation will ever make a dent in that number. Gun control via legislative fiat cannot and will not ever work here. That ship sailed about 350 million guns ago. American criminals will have access to firearms until the sun burns out.
There are ample examples from which to choose, and they need not be expensive.
Law-abiding Americans in the 21st century ought to be armed.
The cops arrived on the scene three minutes after Tran started shooting. That’s phenomenal service, but it still wasn’t fast enough. By contrast, in every crowd in Mississippi a statistically significant percentage of the population is packing heat. Whether it is Wal-Mart, Kroger, the doctor’s office, or church, somebody has a gun handy all the time. I certainly do my part. And in a nation that is simply awash in readily-accessible firearms, that is something that actually works.
California has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country, yet they endured three mass shootings in the past 48 hours. There have been at least six such episodes since the beginning of the pandemic. As the president is quick to observe, stuff like this is happening all the time.
My heart aches for those whose lives were wrecked by the tragedy in Monterey Park. However, if you really want to do something about mass violence in America disregard the politicians. They are ignorant, insincere and impotent. Buy yourself a gun and learn how to use it well. Secure it religiously around kids and carry it safely every time you leave your home. Right, wrong, or otherwise, America is now and forever will be the Wild West. That is not ever going to change. This deep into the Information Age, we are our own first responders.
———————————————————————————— As to this dirt bag offing himself, Thanks from a California Taxpayer! Grumpy 
Why anyone makes the decisions they make is an interesting topic. What are the Whys behind the firearm someone chooses, taking their first class, venturing across the country to train once, and then doing it again?
One of the advantages of teaching at Gunsite is having access to a student base that comes from all over. I recently helped teach an Intermediate Pistol class, Gunsite #350. There were four women in the class, and they agreed to talk to me about this article. Please share this information – you don’t have to be a steely-eyed commando or a barrel-chested freedom fighter to take a class, especially not at Gunsite or most other facilities. Like any other field of study, solid initial training is a good thing. Recurrent training is a must – lest your skills atrophy.
When there’s competition, everyone competes against each other. Megan is shooting against a classmate.
Megan, mom & wife, business owner
She started training once she realized she wanted to adopt a more protective mindset for “my family!” Not enough people were doing that. She absolutely did not want to be a victim.
She chose Gunsite because a friend had been there. After returning home from school, they told her it not only enhanced their mindset but that the class had enhanced their abilities too.
Returning for her #350 pistol class, she liked how she was able to build her skills once immersed in the material by being “here” for several days.
A sense of humor is a good thing in classes. Stuff can break, but she didn’t let it wreck her experience.
Megan prefers the Sig P320 platform, going with the metal frame Scorpion, because of both performance and feel.
Working the roof simulator on a Urban Scrambler run – and getting her hits!
Ashley, wedding photographer, part-time firearms instructor, and retail sales
After being robbed at gunpoint in the United States and experiencing several other “spicey” situations here and abroad, she sought training. A concealed carry permit class opened her eyes to training and the importance of learning when and how to use her defensive tools.
She came to Gunsite based on a co-worker’s recommendation. When asked, Ashley told me she returns because of each instructor’s real-world experience and actual application versus those with just’ book learning.’
Her Canik TP-9 SFX pistol with a Holosun optic.
Her handgun is a Canik TP9-SFX. She’d gone to buy a Glock 34 when she saw the Canik on the rental board at the range. The quality of the trigger was the best she felt of the guns that had come through the store, and its “crisp re-set” sealed the deal. She went with a Holosun optic based on retail cost and co-worker recommendations.
Smith & Wesson M&P CORE 9mm pistol after a shot. Note the spent case in the air.
Christine, trauma surgeon from the Midwest
She described herself now as a competent shooter, not a gun enthusiast. After the 2020 events came to her front yard, she had to consider whether she could use deadly force to defend herself and her loved ones. After making the decision, she began to work with a .22 handgun.
She went to Gunsite because, as a long-time educator, she wanted professional, efficiently & well-presented training because she didn’t want to be “that person who has been shooting thirty years but only learned to shoot 2-3 years ago.”
With her medical background, she wanted a safe training environment because she did not want to worry about being injured or having to treat someone who was hurt.
Her husband started her on an M&P .22 because that’s what was available, and they could buy the ammunition for it. Once they were both comfortable with her abilities, they headed to Gunsite for a #250 Pistol class. A 9mm M&P was available as a rental for the class. Afterward, she found a 9mm M&P CORE pistol at a local gun store and bought it.
She practiced the material for 18 months after the class before returning to take the #350 Intermediate Defensive Pistol course.
She chose the M&P pistol because of its availability. Not only for a .22 trainer but the full-size defensive handgun as well.
One equipment issue for Christine was that her holster was designed for an M&P with a smaller Streamlight pistol light, like the TLR7. Because she was not using a light on her pistol, she had issues with how it fit the holster. The school’s Pro Shop was able to help her out with that.
Utilizing the van on the Urban Scrambler for cover while pieing around it to engage a steel target.
Lissa is a wife, mom, and part-time firearms instructor.
She started training because she wanted to be more involved with running a “The Well-Armed Women/Armed Women of America” chapter. She was concerned about education on pending gun laws. She keeps training to give back to her community. As for Gunsite, she keeps returning because the classes are realistic, relevant, and applicable to her life, not “tacticool.”
Putting in repetitions during the school drills and hardwiring in the optics presentation.
Lissa has put, by her estimate, about fifteen thousand rounds through her Sig M18 over the last two years. She also uses it when teaching. The pistol’s thumb safety was a driving factor for her choosing this handgun. A Wilson Combat modified P320 frame was her introduction to these pistols.
The end of class shoot-off. You have to drop three different pieces of steel, do a speed reload, and then drop a split popper.
Final Thoughts
Four different students with some similar reasons for starting to train. Interesting overlaps and divergences in the Whys behind their equipment as well. Regardless, get your loved ones to good training.
If you are in the upper midwest and you want to support a gun store (and range) that takes training and your rights seriously, consider visiting Fletcher Arms (https://fletcherarms.com).
They always say it can’t be done. I don’t know who they are but if you have the right idea and the people who are smart enough to listen, things can get done.
If only Skeeter Skelton had known Tony Miele at S&W, he just may have seen his beloved .44 Special N-frames back in production before he passed away. I wish he would have, and confess I can’t look at one of S&W’s Classic series without thinking of Skeeter’s writing, and his laments S&W had quit making them. When I handled that first TR .44 Special (the first collaboration between Clint Smith and S&W) I kept thinking of how Skeeter would have smiled had he seen it.
After the success of that .44 Special (Model 21) and then the continued success of the Model 22 (.45 ACP) — also in collaboration with Clint and Thunder Ranch — S&W grew the “Classic” line to include the Models 40, 36, 1917 and the Model 29. It seems we baby-boomers dearly love our classic S&Ws, and aren’t hesitant to put our money down to prove it.
Yet, as is the case with many things, regardless of how good they may be, there are complainers. “This gun has a lock on it” or “The front sight’s not the same as the original” or “The grip’s not the same” or “I’m having a bad day and feel like whining, so I’ll whine about these guns.”
This, from the same crowd who would be quick to castigate S&W for discontinuing the guns in the first place. So now these wonderful designs are back, at least in the spirit of the original in some cases, and they still complain. It sucks to be them, if you ask me. I, along with thousands of believers, will simply continue to enjoy this renaissance of revolvers from S&W, including these innovative models.
Notta 1911
So what only took two months? The new Thunder Ranch Defensive Revolver, .45 ACP, Model 325, that’s what. “What’s all this? Two months? That’s impossible!” say the nay-sayers. No it’s not, I saw it happen, and we not only have the t-shirt, but also the DVD to prove it.
“Clint,” said Tony Miele, “the Performance Center can do wonders with Scandium, light rails and more, so what about a new Thunder Ranch revolver from the Performance Center?” I was there during some of the exchanges and I heard it.
“Okay,” smiled Clint. “But it has to be a 4-something caliber, so we’re talking .44 or .45, as in .45 ACP.” Tony didn’t balk, “We’ll use the concept of the Model 327 .357 as a starting point, with a Scandium frame to keep it light, and a removable light rail, and we’ll make sure it can use full-moon clips.”
Clint smiled too, “And a gold bead front sight, and a forged hammer and trigger, and a stainless steel cylinder, barrel and shroud and a Performance Center action job?” I’ve never seen Tony hesitate with anything, but there might have been just a thousandth of a second hesitation. “Sure, no problem.”
“And — a 4″ barrel,” Clint looked at Tony over the top of his glasses. “But that means I’ll have to … ,” started Tony. “A 4″ barrel because the 5″ causes holster makers to have nightmares, a 3″ is too short and a 6″ is out of the question,” said Clint.
I pitched in with a, “Yup, he’s right, what he said, Tony. Clint’s right.” We were standing in the semi-secret engineering section of Tony’s domain, and Tony’s crack, ace-in-the-hole engineer (an actual gun-guy) nodded.
“Geez … I’d like to say ‘bite me’ but I hate to admit he’s right. Done.” And with that, the new Thunder Ranch Defensive Revolver was pretty much finalized. Clint and Tony had started prodding each other even earlier, but now the ball was officially set in motion and with more “Like this, not like that” calls and e-mails between the two of them, the final design was, well, finalized. Tony sent Clint the prototype (the gun in our pictures is the second prototype) and Clint proceeded to shoot a bit more than 5,000 rounds through it. Then he smiled again.
As a matter of fact, he sent the gun back to Tony who promptly called Clint and said, “What the hell did you do to this gun?” Clint simply said, “I shot it 5,000 times, isn’t that okay?”
“But it was just a prototype gun, a sample to test the basic concept, a oneoff, not a production gun. It was never made to stand-up to that kind of a test,” said Tony.
“But it did, didn’t it. Now, when can I get my gun back?”
That’s how it happened. Honest.
Real Guns
Clint is fond of saying “Wheelguns are Realguns” and I’ll bet many of you agree. Most gun-guys I know have at least a J-frame tucked away in a pocket, and more than likely cut their teeth shooting revolvers. If they are youngsters (less than, say, 40?) they may not have much experience, but probably can manage one well enough not to shoot themselves in their collective feet. Wheelguns are safe, reliable, carry enough rounds to solve most problems, and if it goes “click” and not “bang” you just pull the trigger again. No need to take your gun apart and put it back together to get back into the fight.
The .45 ACP was Clint’s choice for a couple of reasons. First off, it starts with a “4”, which is always a good thing in Clint’s book. And being .45 ACP, it would make a good companion piece for a die-hard 1911 shooter. The adjustable sights on the 325 would allow a shooter to regulate it to the same load he shoots in his auto. And in a pinch, you can load a revolver quite handily by simply snicking the rounds out of a 1911 magazine right into the chambers. There’s no moon-clip involved, but it does get you back into the grease if needed.
The light rail was a no-brainer. It also helps to manage Clint’s observations if you have one of something, you may have none of something if it fails. So, a weapon-mounted light to augment a hand-held light means, “One is none, and two is one.” Easy.
During the day, the lightweight 325 makes a comforting carry gun at a modest 31 ounces, especially in a Milt Sparks holster made just for it. At home at night, on goes the light, and you now have a reliable, full caliber home defense gun.
The Gun At-Hand
I had the joy of shooting the first prototype at Thunder Ranch while we were filming a DVD featuring Clint to include with the gun when they are shipped to buyers. My initial impression was a serious fighting revolver and my later tests proved it out.
The Performance Center at S&W can be compared to a formula one racing design and engineering shop. The best “mechanics” are assembled — in this the best gunsmiths — to push the envelope in design and production. And, like race cars, some of what you see in Performance Center guns may show itself in production guns.
Tony Miele put this expertise he has at hand to work on the 325 and the final package is all everyone hoped for. This lightweight, steel and Scandium .45 ACP, complete with light rail, adjustable sights, interchangeable gold bead front sight, smooth-faced trigger with stop, forged hammer and trigger and what appear to be rubber grips with finger grooves, is not only appealing to the eye, but feels like the serious tool it is in your hand.
The cylinder, shroud and barrel are all stainless, blackened with a proprietary process. The charge holes are chamfered to speed reloading (don’t forget the gun can use full-moon clips), but you can also use either loose ammo or half, or one-third moon clips if you need to. Other niceties include color case-hardened hammer and trigger, button rifled barrel, a ball detent lockup, an “old school” pinned double action sear and even a gun rug.
If you took a basic revolver and did these kinds of modifications to it, you’d soon have a $2,000+ gun. But even at that, you still wouldn’t have a gun like this since many of the features need to be designed and engineered into it from the beginning.
Another handy thing about this being a Performance Center gun is the fact you get a Performance Center action job as standard. This alone would run you about $150 or so if you sent your own sixgun in.
Something else to think about is the fact this is a round-butted gun so you could put smaller grips on it to make it an even better concealed carry gun. And no, it’s not too big to carry, and remember, it’s light for what it is. And like Clint always says, a gun should be comforting, not necessarily comfortable to carry. This one is both.
Shoots Too
The family history for this gun might be loosely based on the 325PD, which is a 4″ barreled .45 ACP. But, the 325 TR Defensive Revolver is loaded with other custom features, not to mention the personal attention to the action given by the craftsmen in the Performance Center.
These new generations of .45 ACP wheelguns shoot very well, indeed. While you may think the very shallow rifling might not allow the best accuracy, in the real world, the 325 delivered groups between 1.5″ and about 2.75″ with several loads, from Black Hills’ ball to Federal Personal Defense ammo. I also double-checked an article Mike Venturino did recently in sister publication GUNS and found his work with the 325PD showed similar results. These guns are shooters.
The action is a smooth DA, with about a 4.5 pound SA pull. But real men (and ladies) should be shooting this gun DA only. And the best thing you can do with any DA revolver is to shoot it. A few drops of lube in the action then plenty of dry-firing in DA mode, and just as much live-fire to seat things always serves to give you a silky smooth action. In the case of the 325, the Performance Center started things along neatly with their action job, but nothing does it like actual use.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a fan of the .45 ACP and the 1911 platform, take a minute to ponder the facts about the TR Defensive Revolver. You can have the stone-cold reliability of a DA revolver, with a rail light, adjustable sights and the ability to digest full moon clips, which are about as fast as a mag change in good hands. For the “bump in the night” there is something to be said for simplicity as you wipe sleep out of your eyes, the dog is barking, kids screaming and your mind still cloudy. Light on, point — and maybe press. Easy.
If you’re not familiar with guns in general, or simply would like to learn more about revolvers, this is a good starting point. In one fell swoop you can have a good target gun, carry gun, home defense gun, duty gun and even a hunting handgun in many cases, up to and including smallish deer (that Cor Bon .45 DPX ammo is dynamite on critters). Am I proud to have Clint Smith play such a significant role in helping to bring back big bore fighting revolvers, and the role Handgunner has played? You bet. But I’m just as happy to simply see this happening so we can all enjoy it.
This juxtaposition of old-school sixgun thinking, with up-to-date technology and design ideas has virtually given us a new category of arm — the Modern Revolver. S&W’s Thunder Ranch Defensive Revolver is most definitely a modern revolver.
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22 Magnum Any Good at 100 yards???
American rifles (M1 Carbines can be seen) being handed out to German soldiers. As the Germans loved the US M1 carbine due to being a superior upgrade to a K98k, effective out to 200 meters, uses detachable 15-round box magazines, and most importantly, lighter and more compact than almost any other long gun in the field.
