Saturday, August 29, 2020

CWP, 29 August MMXX Anno Domini

 Hi Sheepdogs,
 
     "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."  
-- Second Amendment, U.S. Constitution
 
*****     *****     ***** Software *****     *****     *****
 
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
 
----- Mindset -----
 
It’s about prevention, not response.
-- Michael Mann
 
GET HER COMFORTABLE WITH GUNS
How to get your girlfriend/wife/sister etc. to learn about guns!
by Stavroula Avramidis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c55XbT48Nzs
     This is truth.  You have to listen to your female friend.  This takes time.  
(Maybe that's why I don't have a girlfriend?)  I cite this video because
hearing it from a lady is entirely different from hearing it in a lecture from
a male instructor (as most instructors are).  If you don't have the diplomacy
to do this, do our culture a favor and let someone else do it.  
 
The Mental Training of Chuck Norris by Marcus Wynne
https://marcuswynne.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/The-Mental-Training-of-Chuck-Norris.pdf
     Chuck Norris is the voice and face of Glock now that Lee Ermey has passed.  
 
The enemy mindset --
“I Saw an Opportunity and I Took It.” by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/i-saw-an-opportunity-and-i-took-it
Excerpt:  
     "This is what most folks don’t understand about serious criminals.  
The fact that the victim of the crime would be affected in a negative
manner is not even an afterthought.  Your feelings and concerns mean
absolutely NOTHING to the criminal.  He doesn’t care if you live or die,
let alone how “inconvenienced” you will be if he takes all of your stuff
or beats you within an inch of your life.  . . ."
 
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."  
-- Tom Givens
 
----- Safety -----
 
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET
 
The Hidden Dangers Of Shooting Your Firearm by Matthew Maruster
https://www.concealedcarry.com/safety/the-hidden-dangers-of-shooting-your-firearm/
    Practice good hygiene to prevent lead poisoning.
 
"The fast and/or emphatic reholster is an awesome way to shoot yourself."
-- Chuck Haggard
 
     Aggressive drives eventually get into collisions with other vehicles
or with stationary objects.  Or, they get shot in road rage incidents.  
     Defensive drivers don't get into collisions.  And so generally
survive their road travel.  If you pay attention, you can avoid the
drunk or distracted driver.  But, you have to make the decision to
pay attention.  Because it doesn't matter whose at fault, you're
going to get hurt.  
     Courteous drivers, as we are, never get into collisions, have low
insurance rates, and are joyous people.  
     Of course there is no substitute for attending a driving course
taught by experts.  But, I understand how expensive such courses are.  
I had to sign a 4 year enlistment and go through recruit training to
get my driving courses.  All you have to do is pay money.  And as my
father said, "Any problem that can be solved with money, is not a
real problem."  

     My grandmother died peacefully in her sleep, unlike the passengers in her car.
 
     Words are powerful.  Use your words.  
"Texas Concerned Citizen Delays Gunman Armed With AK-47" by Personal Defense World
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2020/08/texas-walmart-marco-antonio-sigala-shooting/
     Concerned citizen, John Allen, talks to bad guy, Marco Antonio Sigala Jr.
to delay Sigala to allow police time to arrive and engage Sigala.  
     Allen was the first responder, not the police.  Allen was operating by himself,
unarmed.  A true hero.  
 
"It’s not enough to shoot a guy until you think he’s dead.
You gotta shoot him until he thinks he’s dead."
-- The Tao of Connor (John Connor)
 
Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.  
Don't hang out with stupid people.
Be in bed by 10 PM.  Your own bed.
Don't look like a freak.
Don't fail the attitude test.
-- John Farnam
 
----- Training -----
 
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from Principles of Personal Defense by
Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, (1920 – 2006 A.D.)
 
When Response Becomes Necessary - A Case Study in Civil Unrest - Michael Mann Security Services
https://youtu.be/uNCnPlc6K_k
     Michael presents a webinar on church security every Wednesday at 16:00 Central Time
on his Facebook page "Safe With Mann".  The video shows up on YouTube.com a few days
later.  I have found these to be very useful.  
 
Pistol Essentials is The Complete Combatant's 1 day "basic pistol class".
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hosted-oct-2020-pistol-essentials-at-citizens-safety-academy-tickets-78531244065
 
Your Tactical Training Scenario . . . Do you have a light? by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/your-tactical-training-scenario-do-you-have-a-light
     No, this is not about flashlights or weapon mounted lights.  It's about
the bad guy getting close enough to you to initiate and attack.  
 
7 CONCEALED CARRY TIPS | Important to know if you carry (or want to carry) a gun!
by Stavroula Avramidis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp8iTlFuyn8
     I love first person experience videos and commentary, sharing experiences.  
 
The Role that Hearing Plays in Awareness by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/8/14/the-role-that-hearing-plays-in-awareness/
 
     I took a class (The instructor asked me not to mention the details as he does
not teach open enrollment classes and did not want people contacting him.  Let me
clarify, he's not worried about you, my students and instructors.  He's worried about
internet trolls, and people who would waste his time.) in which the instructor put
an aluminum and foam splint on the student's trigger finger and then let the student
execute the scenario (from concealment to calling 911).  
     I had remembered reading an article in which the author, a medical doctor,
said that losing the index finger is not that big a deal, because the person will
automatically use the middle finger and automatically compensate for the missing
finger.  Having a finger in a splint is not the same as missing the finger, it's
much worse.  The splinted finger gets in the way of operations.  
     I recommend you try this yourself before trying it with your students.  It can
be dangerous.  
     When I was coaching the Punahou high school rifle team, there was an athlete
who used his middle finger to press the trigger of his smallbore target rifle.  
I tried to get him to use his index finger.  But, that was very awkward for him.  
The middle finger was comfortable and natural for him.  So, that's how he shot.  
     As an instructor/teacher/coach try not to be dogmatic.  Everyone is different.  
Not just physically, but mentally also.  The student may not be able to perform
an operation because of some past mental trauma.  Be aware.  Be understanding.  
 
The Jedi Project
An Investigation into the Mental and Physical Aspects of Handgun Mastery
by Major Richard Groller
https://marcuswynne.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/The-Jedi-Project.pdf
     Note the investigation of belief systems that limit performance.  
 
10 non-verbal signs all officers should be able to recognize and interpret by Dan Marcou
https://www.police1.com/officer-safety/articles/10-non-verbal-signs-all-officers-should-be-able-to-recognize-and-interpret-Xj0bx7nVn0PRlDne/
     A non-exhaustive list of attack precursors.

Street Survival by Dan Marcou
https://www.police1.com/street-survival-dan-marcou/
     It's a series of articles you may find useful.
You may have to sign up to get access.  But, it's fairly painless.
 
"Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
 
----- Practice -----
 
     Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
 
Dry Practice Safety by the Tactical Professor (Claude Werner)
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2020/08/19/dry-practice-safety/
The primary source document,
http://lapd-assets.lapdonline.org/assets/pdf/040-19%20PR%20(NTUD).pdf
Dry Practice Safety – Part II by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2020/08/21/dry-practice-safety-part-ii/
     It can happen to the best of us.  Ask Massad Ayoob.  
The best, and really only, defense is religious practice of the safety rules.  
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED, period, no exceptions!  
 
Why practice?
    "To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment
when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and
offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique
to them and fitted to their talents.  What a tragedy if
that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that
which could have been their finest hour."
-- Winston Churchill
 
Skills Check: Concealed Carry Practice Session at the Range by Ed Head
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/8/17/skills-check-concealed-carry-practice-session-at-the-range/
     This drill has some long range (25 yard, 50 yard) shots.  
I remember studying an incident in which an Air Force security officer
shot a bad guy at 75 yards with his issued pistol, 9mm Beretta.  
He aimed for center of mass of the torso and got a good head impact.  
Which one would expect based on the trajectory of that cartridge
pistol combination.  So, such necessary shots do occur.  And are
therefore worth practicing.  
 
RangemasterFirearms Training Services 2020 Newsletter
https://secureservercdn.net/166.62.115.254/d74.722.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-09_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
Excerpt:  
     "Make time to practice, both in dry practice and live-fire sessions.
Thousands of repetitions build skill that can be retained at a useful level
when circumstances force us to drop out of training for some length of time."
 
     "Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you
have practiced, no matter how ridiculous."
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
 
----- Techniques -----
 
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
 
Off Body Carry Incident by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2020/08/14/off-body-carry-incident/
Excerpt:  
     I’m not much in favor of keeping guns in glove boxes, door pockets, etc.
but the idea that doing so will certainly lead to your demise is not true either.
     [Parks had the situational awareness and presence of mind to get the pistol
out of the glove box before exiting his car.  Maybe it would have been better
to stay in the car, maybe not.  Martin had Parks' car trapped in the parking lot.  
It's always a judgment call as to what is the best tactical maneuver. -- Jon Low]
 
Driving 401: Immobilized Vehicle by Aaron
https://www.integratedskillsgroup.com/blog/driving-401-immobilized-vehicle
 
The Will to Drive On: Emergency Driving Skills
https://www.offgridweb.com/transportation/the-will-to-drive-on-emergency-driving-skills/
 
     I've been to a lot of training over the decades, and in almost all of the
classes that I have taken, the instructor has taught to grip the pistol as tight
as you can.  Some teach to squeeze until you start trembling and then back off
until you don't.  
     I don't think this is a good technique.  If you grip your pistol real tight
for any extended period, your firing side hand is going to get cramps.  Then
you're going to have to break your grip to stretch out your muscles.  
     Don't believe me?  Try shooting an IDPA match with your support side hand.  
All you need is a new holster.  All of your other gear should still work.  
The first time I did this experiment several years ago, my left hand was cramping
after the second stage; to the point that I had to holster and stretch out my
left hand.  
     High stress and a death grip will cause cramping in your hands.  

     Perhaps the solution is grip exercises to strengthen your hands and
then using a firm grip; as you would shake a friend's hand, 
not as you would attempt to break an enemy's hand.  

     Any exercise regimen should strive for symmetry around all joints to
avoid joint problems.  So, may I suggest immersing your hands in wet sand
up to your forearms.  Expand your hands all the way.  Clench your hands
into fists.  Repeat until fatigued.  Wet sand too much?  Try dry sand.  
Still too much?  Try dry rice.  
The rice you buy at the store may have a powder in it to keep it dry.
(The rice you buy at the store probably has a powder in it to keep it dry.  
Isn't that interesting how the verb form changes?  Yes, it's the little
things in life that keep me amused.)  
 
Shooting with the Mind's Eye
How to Think "Front Sight!"
by Marcus Wynne
https://marcuswynne.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Minds-Eye.pdf
     Visualization! the key to success.  I learned this technique in my high school
rifle team, and perfected it while training at the Olympic Training Center in
Colorado Springs, and it has served me well in all things in life.  
     Those who teach aiming techniques without a hard focus on the front sight
are WRONG!  This is actually a good way to sort out the incompetent instructors.  
 
     Do not punch with your fist.  You will break your knuckles, fingers, hand,
and wrist.  Use open hand techniques.  Strike with the base of your palm  to
the nose.  If you have to clench your fist, hammer with the side of your fist.  
Best to gouge the eyes with all fingers spread out.  If the enemy is wearing
goggles, gouge up and under the eye protection.  
     Strike with elbows and knees.  Strike hard with intent to break the enemy's
bones.  If you are not confident that you can break his bones when the time comes,
practice.  
 
     May I invite your attention to
Léa Kyle, Penn and Teller Fool Us
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iVWOyfg6p8
     If after some distraction, you were to produce a pistol at compressed
ready pointing at your enemy, do you think you would be inside his OODA loop?
     The techniques that she executed were no more difficult than you doing a
one handed reload or malfunction clearing.  Yes, she performed the operations
under stress; live audience, thousands watching on TV and YouTube.  Her
preparation (magic technical term) was no more than you would do to put on
your everyday carry gear.  The gimmicks (magic technical term) would take no
more space than a tourniquet.  You are ahead (magic technical term) before
you walk out the door of your house.  Miss Kyle had to perform flawlessly
for Penn and Teller, but you could be sloppy and still get the desired effect.  
     No, I do not teach this sort of thing to my students.  I stay within
my lane.  But, there are many professional magicians who would be happy to
teach you for fair price.  I have met many at the House of Cards in Nashville, TN
who were delighted to teach.  
     In the kind of combat we are concerned with, you have to get ahead by
1.00 seconds to beat the enemy's reaction time of 0.75 seconds to an
unanticipated stimulus.  (0.75 seconds is from unanticipated stimulus to
physical response, add to that the lock time of the pistol and the flight
time of the bullet.)
     Of course, you have to press the trigger, otherwise all is for nought.  
(Pressing the trigger on a living organism that looks human is difficult;
no matter how evil and depraved it is.  The only way to overcome this
instinctive reluctance to shoot a human is realistic training and practice,
especially visualization.)
 
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
 
----- Tactics -----
 
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
 
Lessons Learned Presentation In Spokane (Part 7):
First To Put Shots On Target by John Correia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtTetqZm2KQ
Excerpt:  
     "The first person to put a shot in the other guy almost always wins.  
The speed of your draw to first hit is the most important skill in a
gunfight."
     National average for civilian concealed carriers, 2.0 seconds.  For trained
professionals, 1.5 seconds.  For highly trained people who practice a lot, 1.0 seconds.  
If you can get a shot on target in 1.0 seconds from stimulus, you can beat the
other guy's reaction time.  
 
The Shoot Down Drill:  A Fairy Tale by John Connor
https://americanhandgunner.com/guncrank-diaries/the-shoot-down-drill-a-fairy-tale/
     Many of our friends write fiction, novels, fairy tales, parables, and such.  
Because writing non-fiction would cause all kinds of problems (for some).  
     Edward Snowden is a hero to some.  I think he needs to be summarily
executed for treason.  He has already confessed publicly many times.  
But, diplomacy is a fine art.  So, the Trump administration has declined
all offers for body extraction or termination.  
     There was a joke in conservative circles that Trump's enemies are playing
checkers, while Trump is playing chess.  But, there are many very intelligent
persons playing chess on the world stage.  Few of them understand that Trump
is playing go and using the latest artificial (and real) intelligence to help
him make the best decisions.  Previous CinCs were not capable of doing this,
because they could not understand the technology.  The Roman Consuls could not
guide their legions by satellite data, even if they had satellites because
they would not have been able to understand satellites, so they would not trust satellite data.  
Welcome to the real world.  Some people are just dumb as rocks, even those
in high political office (especially those in high political office,
consider the 2012 Benghazi attack).  
     Decades ago, I was part of a team giving an intel briefing to flag
officers at Marine Forces Pacific headquarters at Camp Smith in Hawaii.  
The questions from the flag officers indicated that they were brain dead.  
The G-2, a Marine Colonel, assured them that what we were saying was true.  
But, the flag officers believed the propaganda that they had heard in the
American liberal media (ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR, etc.).  This is why there are
so many rogue operations carried out by O-6's and below.  (Some people
believe the police killed George Floyd, even though the autopsy cites the
cause of death as drug overdose.  There were no bruises on Floyd's neck.  
Mayor Rudy Giuliani said that the police murdered George Floyd in his
speech at the Republican National Convention in 2020.  Some people are
just rock solid stupid, in the sense that they choose to believe the
liberal media in spite of all facts.)
     In the fairy tale above, do you think the Israeli bureaucracy every
changed their training curriculum?  Have you ever heard of Israeli Carry?  
It means carrying with an empty chamber.  You will never have enough
time to chamber a round in a self defense scenario.  You may not be able
to chamber a round in a self defense situation.  Think about that and
decide.  Because it is a matter of life and death.  
 
You win gunfights by not getting shot.
-- John Holschen
 
----- Education -----
 
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
 
     All kinds of interesting stuff at
Practical Eschatology
https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/
 
Shot in the Back! How does it happen? by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/shot-in-the-back-how-does-it-happen
     Please note the reaction times that Greg cites.  
- On average it takes 0.25 seconds to react to a threat cue and begin to act.
– If that reaction to a threat cue involves a decision
(i.e. “Is the thing in his hand a gun or a cell phone?”)
the reaction time time is increased to an average of 0.56 seconds.
– The average officer takes 0.35 seconds to process the fact
that a threat no longer exists and to stop shooting.
– The average officer fires one bullet every 0.25 seconds after he begins to fire
Excerpt:  
     "Do you see the problem?  Let’s say the bad guy is facing the officer
and begins shooting.  The officer starts shooting back and hits the bad guy.  
Bad guy drops the gun and spins away as the bullets hit him.  It takes the
officer 0.35 seconds to recognize that the bad guy is no longer a threat.  
He is firing a bullet every 0.25 seconds.  That means the officer will
generally fire one to two rounds AFTER making the decision to stop shooting.   
It’s very easy for those bullets to end up in the criminal’s back."
 
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
 
*****     *****     ***** Hardware (which includes you) *****     *****     *****
 
"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley
 
----- Gear -----
 
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
 

     Federal (Monty Grubbs says shipping time is 2 - 2.5 weeks.)
Hat tip to Tom Givens.  
     United Nations Ammo Company
Hat tip to Elky Monroe
     2A Warehouse
Hat tip to Elky Monroe
     In case you haven't noticed, most stores and distributors are sold out of ammo.  
But, the above have stock, at least at this writing.

 
     One of my adult female students has small hands.  She could correctly grip a
model 1911 type pistol with single stack magazine, but her trigger finger could not
correctly reach the trigger.  The trigger was too far forward.  So, I took the
pistol to Rich Modzelewski of Echo 3 Armory.
     He installed a new trigger.  The old trigger jutted out 0.500 inches in front
of the frame.  The new trigger juts out 0.250 inches in front of the frame.  
The trigger moves 0.125 inches from reset to break-dawn when the slack is out of the
trigger.  From break-dawn to break is 0.010 inches.  So, the trigger is
jutting well out in front of the frame when the pistol fires (for reliability).  
(Rich did not change the weight of the trigger, which is 5 pounds.)
     By moving the trigger a quarter of an inch back, the lady was able to
execute correct trigger control, i.e. able to press the trigger straight to
the rear without any lateral force.  
     Trigger terms:
slack = trigger movement without sear movement (necessary for combat pistols)
break-dawn = the hard stop at the end of slack and the start of sear movement
creep = the movement of the sear before the break (there shouldn't be any creep)
break = when the sear releases the firing pin / striker
over-travel = movement of the trigger after the break (this should be minimized)
reset = releasing the trigger until you hear or feel the click of the trigger reset
     Rich Modzelewski of Echo 3 Armory
214 N Horton Pkwy, Chapel Hill, TN 37034
https://www.facebook.com/echo3armory/
(931) 364-5486
echo3armory@gmail.com
I highly recommend Rich.  He builds and does gunsmithing on a lot of the long
range precision rifles for the members of the Strategic Edge Gun Range.  
He is school trained and experienced in the Marine Corps and elsewhere.
 
How to Choose the Right Concealed Handgun Carry Position by Brad Fitzpatrick
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/8/19/how-to-choose-the-right-concealed-handgun-carry-position/
1. Is The Gun Safe and Secure?
2. Does the Holster Position Allow You to Comfortably Sit, Stand and Kneel?
3. Is the Firearm Accessible?
4. Is The Firearm Concealable?
5. Will a Single Carry Position/Style Work for You?
 
NRA Youth Ambassador Review: Girls With Guns Eclipse Leggings by Kali Thompson
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/8/17/nra-youth-ambassador-review-girls-with-guns-eclipse-leggings/
 
Summertime Gear Update by Rich Grassi
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/0d9073bf-d55e-47b5-9069-48f0206bf94f
     The significant information is the review of the Streamlight flashlight
at the end of the article.  
 
The Firearms Manifesto Part One: Your First Gun by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/the-firearms-manifesto-part-one-your-first-gun
     I don't think revolvers take less training and practice than semi-autos.  
Loading, unloading, and reloading a revolver takes training and practice.  Doing
it one handed takes serious training and practice, especially support side hand
only.  I never carry a revolver, but I practice regularly so that I can demonstrate
for my students.  I don't think it is any easier than similar operations on a
semi-auto.  
     I don't think a 45 ACP is harder to shoot than a 9mm in terms of recoil and
report (blast).  Pistol shooting is technique, not strength.  The cost of ammunition
should not be the determining factor.  The probability of stopping the attack
should be the determining factor.  So, you should want to throw the biggest piece
of lead you can, accurately.  
     Every shot you fire has a non-zero probability of missing your target, i.e.
damaging property, injuring or killing innocent persons.  So, you should be striving
to shoot the minimum number of bullets.  (It's like golf.)  So, you should be
shooting the bullet that gives you the highest probability of stopping the attack.  
Bullet size is directly correlated to probability of stopping the attack.  (Citation:  
Stopping Power lecture at Front Sight Firearms Training Institute.)
 
Corrections and Special Applications Unit (CSAU-1)
STL (senior team leader) Joseph Garcia and the Guns He Uses During a Prison Riot
https://www.tactical-life.com/firearms/stl-joseph-garcia-guns-prison-riot/
     Notice his right handed technique for going around the left side of a corner.  
Excerpt:  
     “We primarily use the KelTec KSG shotguns,” Garcia said.
“The reason we went with the KSG is its high capacity and the ability to switch
the type of rounds we need on the fly.  . . . ”
 
Downloadable Targets for FREE!
http://targetz.com/

Louis Charles Candell gives you access to a Linux (Unix/Posix) file system of
documents containing firearms manuals, firearms catalogs, and such.
http://www.louiscandell.com/pdf/
A huge repository of downloadable targets and record keeping documents,
http://www.louiscandell.com/pdf/targets/
 
“Your car is not a holster.”
– Pat Rogers
 
----- Technical -----
 
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
 
Why Revolvers Are NOT More Reliable Than Semi-Auto Pistols by Caleb
http://preparedgunowners.com/2015/07/30/why-revolvers-are-not-more-reliable-than-semi-auto-pistols/
 
     Biometrics, for unlocking gun safes or unlocking guns for use, won't work
when your hands are cut, bloody, dirty, etc.  So, using them is an act of
criminal stupidity.  
     When I was assisting the Royal Saudi Air Force at their headquarters in
Riyadh (2003 A.D., Operation Iraqi Freedom), they installed an iris
reader for access into a certain area.  The enemy tapped the communication
channel and stole the digital signal of a colonel's iris.  So, the IT
department locked that signal out of the system.  The colonel couldn't
change his iris, so he was locked out.  I could go on, giving you many more
examples, but you get the idea.  Biometrics is really stupid.  
     "Biometrics is just like a password (something you know)."
     No, it's not.  You can change your password.  You can't change any of your
body biometrics.  
     "Biometrics is just like a token (something you have)."  
     No, it's not.  A token (e.g. a random number generating fob) is constantly
and pseudo-randomly changing in synch with the verifying system.  There is
nothing in any system that is changing in synch with any of your body's system
biometrics.  
     "Biometrics is just like a key (in the sense of a logic key used to verify
zero knowledge proofs, not a crypto key).  [Here we are talking about using the
person's memories/experiences.]"  
     No, it's not.  The human interface of reading questions and answering them,
where the questions change based on the previous answer (and who the system
thinks you are) repeated 32 times would take way too long to be practical in
any scenario.  (This is basically the Israeli Security Method, used at their
airports, in computer science form.)
     [Here is a way to tell if your computer security guy has any cryptologic
training or is an idiot.  Passwords (real passwords, good passwords, not stupid
passwords) never go stale.  So, if your IT guy insists on you changing your
password every so often, he's an idiot.  Good passwords are not hard to remember,
they are hard for a human to guess.  Real passwords are not hard to remember,
they are hard for a computer to find.  Generating real good passwords is easy.  
Using a computer program or any algorithm to generate your passwords for you
is wrong.  Because your imagination is orders of magnitude more complex than

any practical implementable algorithm.  (In the sense of computational complexity.)  
Any specifications on a password requiring you to use certain
characters or forbidding you from using certain characters is wrong, because it
reduces the space in which the enemy has to search.] 
 
Cocked & Locked: The Best Way to Carry a 1911 by Bart Skelton

https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/8/25/cocked-locked-the-best-way-to-carry-a-1911/
     A single-action semi-auto pistol should always be carried with a round
in the chamber, the hammer cocked, and the thumb safety on.  Any other
configuration is wrong because:  
     If there is no round in the chamber, the pistol won't fire.  
You won't have time to chamber a round.  You may not be capable of chambering
a round.  Every attempt to rack the slide with one hand only, while engaged
in close quarter combat?  I bet you can't even imagine how to do it in a
thought experiment.
     If there is a round in the chamber with the hammer down, the pistol
won't fire.  You won't have time to cock the hammer.  You may not be
capable of cocking the hammer.  Every attempt to cock the hammer with
one hand only, while engaged in close quarter combat?  Remember, with the
hammer down, the safety cannot be on.  So, when you cock the hammer, the
safety is not on.  
     Making any kind of modification to defeat the grip safety is
criminal stupidity.  Because, you are not using the pistol as designed.  
You are outside of common custom and practice.  
 
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
 
*****     *****     ***** Instruction *****     *****     *****

Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
 
----- Instructors -----
 
Remember, the students who require the extra effort are the ones who need us the most!
-- John Farnam
 
     Be careful what you teach.  Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do, no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
 
----- Pedagogy -----
 
Teach positive.  Teach what to do.  Don't talk about what not to do.
-- John Farnam
 
     Last issue, 15 August 2020, I talked about a female student who had no hands
and suggested the USA Shooting National Paralympic coach as a source for help.  
As another source, may I invite your attention to,
Adaptive Shooting Sports Offers Free Training for Shooters with Physical Challenges by Luke C.
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/08/19/adaptive-shooting-sports-training/
Register at Adaptive Shooting Sports Tulsa,
https://www.adaptiveshootingsportstulsa.com/
     Not just for paralyzed veterans, non-veterans may register and are welcome.
 
     An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.  
-- "Building Shooters" by Dustin Solomon
 
*****     *****     ***** Legal, Political, and Philosophical *****     *****     *****
 
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
"Another off body carry incident, with a twist" by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2020/08/16/another-off-body-carry-incident-with-a-twist/
     The Professor lists this incident as an off body carry situation.  But, what I
find interesting about it, is that at trial, the judge (remember it was a bench trial,
no jury [The public defender was pressured into accepting a bench trial to save costs
to the government.]) convicted the defendant, even though the prosecution had not
disproved the defendant's claim of self defense beyond a reasonable doubt.  
Indicative of an incompetent or corrupt judge.  The judge also convicted the defendant
of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon based on failure to have an Illinois firearm
owner’s identification card, even though the judge knew that the defendant had a
valid gun permit from Indiana, his state of residence, when the offense occurred.  
     Thank God the Appellate Court was not as incompetent or corrupt as this trial
judge.
     In the Specially Concurring opinion by Justice Wright, the Justice notes
that the OSAD (Office of the State Appellate Defender) took over a year to file
the appeal (breaking 8 deadlines to file the appeal).  
     So, the defendant sat in jail for 4 years awaiting his acquittal.  
Basically because the defedant violated Farnam's rule:  
"Be in bed by 10 PM.  Your own bed."
     From the Appellate Court ruling --
https://courts.illinois.gov/R23_Orders/AppellateCourt/2020/3rdDistrict/3180189_R23.pdf
Excerpt:  
     In an appeal in a criminal case, the appellate court found that:
(1) defendant was not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of aggravated battery
with a firearm because the State failed to negate defendant’s claim of self-defense; and
(2) defendant’s conviction for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, which was based,
in part, upon defendant’s failure to have an Illinois firearm owner’s identification
card at the time of the offense, could not stand because defendant had a valid gun
permit from Indiana, his state of residence, when the offense 2 occurred.  
     The appellate court, therefore, reversed defendant’s convictions for aggravated
battery with a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.  
 
     Reversed the conviction!  Not ordered a new hearing on sentencing.  
Not set for a new trial (on the same charges).  Not set aside the conviction
(allowing for new charges to be filed).  But, reversed.  This is as rare as a unicorn.  
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Self Defense: When A Trigger Upgrade Becomes A “Hair Trigger” by Massad Ayoob
https://gundigest.com/handguns/personal-defense/self-defense-when-a-trigger-upgrade-becomes-a-hair-trigger
 
--------------------- Blog post on self defense insurance ------------------------
 
Pre-paid legal services:  (I keep re-posting and updating this because things keep changing.)
 
Do you Need Carry Insurance? Lawyer Andrew Branca shoots us straight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wilf_R5wlNQ
     Most people are not at zero knowledge.  They are at negative 20, because
they know so much stuff that is false.  So, to get them to 100% knowledge is
very difficult.  You have to educate them out of all of their deeply held
misconceptions.  
     You have to get the money up front.  You have to be able to choose your
attorney.  The insurance company has to have enough money to actually give it to you.  
 
-------------------  Articles comparing carriers -----------------------------
 
CCW Insurance – Protecting Yourself After You Protect Yourself by Ryan Cleckner
https://www.recoilweb.com/protecting-yourself-after-you-protect-yourself-136637.html
 
Virginia Citizens Defense League
https://www.vcdl.org/
VCDL legal-plans comparison chart
https://www.vcdl.org/Legal-Plans
     You have to scroll down through the web page, or you can download the PDF file at
https://vcdl.org/resources/pdf/Legal_Plan_Comparison.pdf
     The numbers to the right of the questions refer to the page numbers, which
are only visible in the PDF document.  
     This is a very comprehensive comparison.  It's a little dated, as it still has
the NRA Carry Guard listed.  But, they obviously surveyed every company and got detailed
answers.  
 
6 Concealed Carry Insurance Options To Protect Your Six (comparison in text)
by Gun Digest Editors
https://gundigest.com/handguns/concealed-carry/4-self-defense-insurance-options
 
Self-Defense Gun Owner Insurance Programs Compared (comparison chart)
https://www.concealedcarry.com/self-defense-gun-owner-insurance-programs-compared/
     This web page, the chart, and the PDF file are updated on a regular basis.
 
-------------------  End articles comparing carriers -------------------------

-------------------  List of carriers ----------------------------------------
 
     I list many carriers that are not listed in the comparison articles above.  
So, you have to read their policies and compare them yourself.  It's worth doing.  
This is the difference between getting through the gauntlet battered, and ending
up bankrupt and destitute.  
 
Legal Shield
     There are links on this web page to the PDF files with the details.  
This is the one that Front Sight (in Pahrump, NV) recommends.  It is way more than self defense 
insurance.  
 
Self Defense Fund

 
CCW Safe (Recommended by Andrew Branca)
https://ccwsafe.com/
 
USCCA (Recommened by Andrew Branca.  You need to read Andrew Branca's review
before buying this plan.  They don't seem to pay if they don't think it was self defense.)
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/
 
Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network (Recommended by Andrew Branca.  
They only pay out if their board thinks it was self defense.)
https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/
 
Firearms Legal Protection
https://firearmslegal.com/
 
US Law Shield
https://www.uslawshield.com/
     State licensed private armed guards buy this policy, because they will cover private
security.  The others won't.  I have talked to many attorneys that handle self-defense
cases in the Metro Nashville area, and they tell me the vast majority of their cases are
private security guards shooting bar and night club patrons who got thrown out of the
establishment, go to their car, get a gun, and come back to shoot the bouncers.  Oh ya,
you just don't hear about it because they are not cops, so it doesn't fit the liberal
media narrative.  In our country, there are more state licensed armed security officers
than sworn law enforcement officers, by an order of magnitude.  Remember the stories
of Pinkerton in the Old West?  Wells Fargo?  They were all private.  
     The police self-defense case is rare, but highly publicized.  So, it seems more
common than it really is.  
     The private citizen self-defense case is extremely rare.  (I'm not counting
criminal acts where the criminal falsely claims self-defense.  Because that happens
all the time.  Fortunately, the judge usually denies the self-defense claim
because it is not supported by any evidence.  This is not at trial, so the bad guy's
long violent criminal history may be considered.  Which is good for the good guys.)
 
Second Call Defense
https://www.secondcalldefense.org/
 
CWI Agency (probably dead)
concealedweaponsins.com
redirects to Sycamore Insurance Company at
https://www.sycamore-insurance.com/
But, they don't seem to carry self defense insurance.
 
United Self Defense Law Firm (probably dead)
GunDefenseLaw.com
     This web address does not work.  
The Facebook.com web page is still up at
https://www.facebook.com/USDLawFirm
     The email address is
support@gundefenselaw.com
I did not get an error message when I sent an email to this address.
But, I didn't get a reply either.  
 
NRA Carry Guard (definitely dead)
 
-------------------  End list of carriers -------------------------------------
 
     You have to do your own comparison to see what works best for you,
because these plans have significant differences.  Check out which states
they are not valid in.  Check out all the things they exclude.  
Check out all the caps.  Some of the carriers will only pay if they think
it was self-defense.    (This is a real problem, because there is no
such thing as a perfect combat operation.  No matter how justified you
think your actions were, there is a perspective from which what you did
was murder.)  The devil is in the details.  
     Most of these plans won't cover domestic disputes.  We never consider
having to shoot our spouse, lover, etc.  But, ask any detective, "Who is
the prime suspect in any non-gang-related homicide?"  They will tell
you, the spouse, the girlfriend/boyfriend, the lover; because statistically,
that is the person who did it.  (No, really, I was a cop.)
     Yes, there are lots of other insurance plans, but if I thought it was
stupid (like Lockton), I did not list it above.  I did not list any of the plans
that reimburse upon acquittal, because they have a huge financial incentive
to see you convicted.  And you need the money up front to pay for bail,
attorneys, private investigators, expert witnesses, consulting experts, etc.  
So, buying a reimbursement plan is an act of criminal stupidity.  
 
--------------------- End blog post on self defense insurance --------------------
 
Great American Outdoors Act Signed Into Law
https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2020/8/4/great-american-outdoors-act-signed-into-law/
 
     A small step in the right direction.  
"Air Force Base to Allow Personal Firearms for CCW Permit Holders" by Luke C.
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/08/19/air-force-base-personal-firearms/
     In case you don't understand the significance of this.  When President Trump took
office, he asked all base commanders to review their policies and consider allowing
their subordinates to carry concealed on base.  Several did, quietly, to ingratiate
themselves with their CinC (Commander in Chief), to be considered fit for promotion
in the eyes of the new administration.  This more public announcement is tacit
acknowledgement that the base commander (and many others) thinks that the next
president will set the same policies as the present administration.  
These senior field grade officers and flag/general grade officers ain't stupid.  
 
     If there is a coup d'etat, will you be able to correctly choose which side
to back?  If not, please read the U.S. Constitution.  It's written in plain
English and is easy to read.  [If you are considering siding with the political
party that advocates open borders and amnesty for illegal aliens, stop and think.  
If you are considering siding with the political party that will infringe on your
right to keep and bear arms, stop and think.]
     "Thinking is the hardest thing a person can do.  That's why so few people do it."  
-- Henry Ford
     If there is another civil war, will you be able to choose wisely as to which
side to be on?  If not, please read our Declaration of Independence.  It's written
in plain English and is easy to read.  [If you are considering siding with the
political party that has as part of its party platform the murder of babies from
conception to immediately after birth, you might want to slap your head and reconsider.]
     If there is another world war, will you be able to choose which side to be
on?  If not, please read the Bible (and Apocrypha).  You'll probably only be able
to read a translation of a translation that has been changed many times over the
2000 years since the New Testament events or 5000 years since the Old Testament
events due to political correctness and corruption.  But, it's all we have.  
[If you are considering siding with the culture that advocates immorality, you
might want to slap your head and reconsider.  Just because the communists say that
capitalism is immoral, does not make it immoral.  Murdering babies and forced
sterilization of men and women is immoral, even if the communists say it is moral;
e.g. Chinese Communist Party in China, Planned Parenthood, Democrat political party
in the United States, National Socialists in German, etc.]
 
Free Stuff!  by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/free-stuff/
    Remember, Fidel Castro overthrew Cuba with 50 comrades.
The first king of Saudi Arabia, conquered the Arabian peninsula
with 32 of his friends.  Any company commander will have that many
subordinates at his command (and many platoon commanders will
have that many subordinates).  Kamehameha conquered the Hawaiian Islands
without any troop maneuvers.  He just used the shipboard cannon
that the haoles ("foreigners", in modern usage "caucasians") sold him.  
(Ya, I know it depends on whose history you read.  Which depends on
which school your parents sent you to.)
     When John Farnam says, "The other historical point you’ll notice is that
you can vote your way into socialism, but you’ll have to shoot your way out!",
you have to remember that Adolf Hitler of the National Socialist party (Nazi)
was the duly elected Chancellor of Germany.  
     The Beer Hall Putsch failed.  The Germans elected Hitler.  (It's not
that the Germans were stupid, it's just that they were desperate as a result
of the conditions forced on them by the loss of World War I.)
     There were several attempted coup d'etats (or coups d'etat) to kill
Hitler and remove the Nazi regime.  The Oster Conspiracy of 1938 was a
proposed plan to overthrow German Führer, Adolf Hitler, and the Nazi regime.  
Operation Valkyrie, was the failed July 20, 1944, attempt to assassinate
Adolf Hitler and overthrow the Nazi regime.  And many others.  Not to mention
all the ones we don't know about.  
     Once the socialist get into power, they are extremely difficult to
remove.  If you haven't actually participated in such an operation (at the
operational level) it would be really hard for you to imagine the logistics
involved.  I assure you, that if you have only participated at the tactical
level as a trigger puller, you cannot speak intelligently about how to
execute a coup d'etat.  
     "Amateurs talk tactics.  Professionals talk logistics." -- Napoleon
 
When Burglars Attack:  The Stiffler Case by Massad Ayoob
https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/when-burglars-attack-the-stiffler-case/
Excerpt:  
     "Studies show while reaction to anticipated stimulus runs an average
of about 0.25 of one second, it takes about three quarters [0.75] of a
second — or more — for a shooter to cognitively process the unanticipated
stimulus of the attacker unexpectedly breaking off the assault.  The shooter
goes through the whole OODA loop of Col. John Boyd.  
Observe (the eyes see) what is happening,
Orient (the brain figures out what the visual input means),
Decide what to do now (stop pulling the trigger), and
Act (physically stop shooting).  
I stated honestly what the State was asking of Stiffler was not humanly possible."
     ". . . Quentin Rhoades had meticulously selected jurors who all said they
could render a not guilty verdict in a self-defense case. It turned out the
two jurors who insisted on conviction told the rest of the panel shooting
someone in self-defense was wrong; Rhoades learned this after debriefing most
of the other jurors subsequent to trial. The two holdouts for conviction
wouldn’t talk to him."
     "When you’re in such a situation, get the best lawyers for the job.
The job in this case was not criminal defense, but affirmative defense.
The best criminal defense lawyers got their reputation by getting off guilty
people.  The strategy for defending the rights of the guilty is almost
180 degrees opposite from the strategy needed in an affirmative defense
case like this, where you need to show the jury while you did the act,
you were absolutely correct in doing so.  Rhoades and Siefert accomplished
exactly that and gave Jim Stiffler and his wife their lives back."  
     [Mas estimates the real cost of the legal defense would have been $360,000.  
Do you have that much money?  If not, better get insurance.  Because if it
could happen to these nice law abiding people, it could happen to you.  
-- Jon Low]
 
What Do NRA Lawsuits Mean Ahead Of November?  by Dave Workman
https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/what-do-nra-lawsuits-mean-ahead-of-november/
     The article has links to the primary source documents.  
https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2020-08/NRA-Foundation-Complaint-Redacted.pdf
     But, note that the case filed by the Attorney General for the District of Columbia
against the NRA Foundation [the organization that holds the Friends of the NRA
banquets in just about every county in the country and is a 501 (c) 3 charity
(all donations are tax deductible) ] is redacted.  Reading the complaint makes
one wonder just who is being protected by the redactions.   
     Also, note that the New York state filing is signed by the Charities Bureau
Chief, James Sheehan.  
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/final_nra_summons_complaint_08.06.20.pdf
     The filings are intended to portray the mismanagement of a charity for personal
gain, which to many would be an unforgivable crime of moral turpitude.  I remember
when a friend of mine in the Rotary Club took over the Goodwill in the region
(New Jersey) after the previous president had been indicted for embezzlement,
malfeasance, and such.  It was difficult to rebuild the organization's
good name in the region.  I'm sure this is what the plaintiff's attorneys in
the NRA case are striving for.  My friend invited me to his office to discuss
Goodwill's PR campaign.  Very expensive.  Very involved.  
 
"Comparing the Global Rate of Mass Public Shootings to the U.S.’s Rate and
Comparing their Changes Over time" by John R. Lott
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3671740
Abstract
     The U.S. is well below the world average in terms of the number of
mass public shootings, and the global increase over time has been much
bigger than for the United States.
     Over the 20 years from 1998 to 2017, our list contains 2,772 attacks
and at least 5,764 shooters outside the United States and 62 attacks and
66 shooters within our country. By our count, the US makes up less than
1.13% of the mass public shooters, 1.77% of their murders, and 2.19% of
their attacks. All these are much less than the US’s 4.6% share of the
world population. Attacks in the US are not only less frequent than
other countries, they are also much less deadly on average.
Out of the 101 countries where we have identified mass public shootings
occurring, the United States ranks 66th in the per capita frequency of
these attacks and 56th in the murder rate.
     Not only have these attacks been much more common outside the US,
the US’s share of these attacks has declined over time. There has been
a much bigger increase over time in the number of mass shootings in
the rest of the world compared to the US.
 
A Landmark Win for Self-Defense Rights: The Ninth Circuit Sets a Precedent . . .
https://www.uslawshield.com/landmark-win-ninth-circuit/
     The 9th Circuit used to be radical liberal.  But, President Trump has been
appointing Federal Circuit Court Judges at a phenomenal pace.  Now, 50% of the
judges on the 9th Circuit are Bush or Trump appointments.  We are winning!  
 
Weapons in the Zone: Gun Owners and Schools | Tennessee
https://www.uslawshield.com/pandemic-school-zones-tn/
Excerpt:  
     ". . . under federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2), an individual who possesses
an Enhanced Handgun Carry Permit issued by the State of Tennessee would be
permitted to possess a firearm in a school zone located in Tennessee.
Additionally, under the Gun-Free School Zones Act, a person without a license
issued by the state in which the school zone is located who is not otherwise
prohibited from possessing a firearm may possess a firearm in a school zone so
long as the firearm is unloaded and either locked in a container or locked in
a firearm rack inside a vehicle, similar to the Tennessee State law exception.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1309(c)(1)(B)."
 
Attorney War Stories: 3 Lessons For Every Gun Owner
https://www.uslawshield.com/3-lessons-from-the-attorneys/
Excerpt:  
     "The police must know why you used your weapon before you admit to using your weapon."
 
     Remember Michael Drejka.  The responding officers declined to arrest, because
it was self defense.  The Sheriff declined to press charges, because it was self defense.  
This should have been the end of the story.  But then, Drejka talks to the police without
an attorney and talks himself into a manslaughter conviction.  Learn from the mistakes
of others.  Keep your mouth shut.  Let your attorney talk for you.  
 
Bolshevik Brilliance!  by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/bolshevik-brilliance/
Excerpts:  
     “I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said.”
-- William F Buckley Jr.
     First they say: “You don’t need guns, because police are there to protect you”
     Then they say: “We're defunding the police!”
     Afterward they say: “. . . but you still can’t have guns!”
 
“Is there no virtue among us?
If there is not, we are without hope!
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.
To think that any government, in any form,
will insure liberty and happiness for an dishonorable population
represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
 
*****     *****     ***** Survival, Medical, Security, and such *****     *****     *****
 
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
 
The Effects a Criminal Attack Can Have on the Heart by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/8/21/the-effects-a-criminal-attack-can-have-on-the-heart/
 
Living in Condition Yellow by Marcus Wynne
https://marcuswynne.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Condition-Yellow.pdf
     When I first learned Col. Cooper's color code of mental awareness at Frong Sight
in 1996, they taught condition black.  I notice a lot of schools (and police academies)
have dropped condition black.  Politically incorrect, I guess.  
     As Col. Boyd said, whoever can cycle through their OODA loop faster will win.  
 
Feedback on the HAC (HEMORRHAGE ARREST COURSE) 8 Hour Course (author not cited)
https://civiliandefender.com/2020/06/02/feedback-on-the-hac-8-hour-course/
All kinds of other good stuff on Sherman's web site at
https://civiliandefender.com/
     A course on how to stop the bleeding, get the heart beating, and get the diaphram
breathing should be on your to do list.  Because you're going to need these skills.  
Yes, as a matter of fact, I can predict the future.  It's not that hard.  I spent
five years studying healthcare data at TennCare, the Tennessee bureau responsible
for Medicare and Medicaid.  
 
Willingness is a state of mind.  Preparedness (or lack thereof) is a fact.
 
*****     *****     ***** Basics *****     *****     *****
 
“Often, it’s what you don’t know that kills you!”
-- Carr
 
     "Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
 
*****     *****     ***** Miscellany *****     *****     *****
 
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
 
Bumper sticker:
"Guns don't kill people.  
It's mostly the bullets."
Hat tip to Kirk Christy Peavy.
 
     Omar Martinez, the Graphic Designer of EAA Corp, asked me to review an advertisement
that will be coming out in the Shooting Illustrated November issue.  How flattering.  
(I had complained about how their model was gripping a pistol in one of their advertisements.)
Good to see EEA developing another striker action pistol, MC28 SA-TV.  Comes from the
factory with a red dot sight.  www.EEACorp.com
 
New Shooting Sport: Flying Carp Hunting With Shotguns by Doug E.
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/08/19/flying-carp-hunting-shotguns/
     Better than shooting fish in a barrel.  And they are yummy.
 
     I was talking to a lady police officer in the emergency room.  They have to watch
the guys they bring in.  She is 40 and a rookie.  So, there are still those who feel the
calling, even in this political environment.  She told me that she had signed up for
MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) classes and had taken her first class this morning.  On her
own time, on her own dime.  
     She understands that the incident is going to start in close.  So, she's not going
to have time or space to access a weapon.  So, she needs the empty hand skills to make
the time and space to access a weapon.  
     When I was on duty talking to persons, I always tried to have a pen in my right
hand and a bullet proof clipboard in my left (held between the person's right hand
and my high thoracic cavity).  Hey, I was taking notes, because what the person was
saying was really important to me.  
 
Advice from my mother --
     Please tell your drug addicted friend that he is not a functional recreational
drug user.  He is in fact a drug addict and everyone can see it.  They don't
mention it to his face because they are too polite to confront him about it.  Everyone
talks about his addiction and bad behavior behind his back.  If this truth disturbs
him, he may stop doing the drugs.  If he doesn't care about this truth, well, he's
a drug addict.  So, you have to make a decision; disassociate with him, or let him
drag you down with him; and he will, because that is what drug addicts do.  
     Half a century ago, my mother told me that drugs and alcohol don't make anyone
do anything.  They just let the person do what he wants to do.  So, if a person is
a nasty drunk, he is in fact a nasty person.  He just maintains a facade due to
social inhibitions.  I am disappointed by many parents I meet today who do not tell
their children the truth.  "Oh, it's a disease.  He can't help himself."  No, it's
a choice.  Nobody forced him to start taking drugs.  When he chose to take drugs,
he chose to be an addict.  He chose to live a life on welfare and regular visits
to the emergency rooms.  If he didn't know that was the choice he was making,
shame on his parents for not explaining that to him.  
 
“In the long-run, there is no such thing as ‘luck’.
However, the short-run is longer than many individual lifetimes!”
-- Anon
 
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
 

Saturday, August 15, 2020

CWP, 15 August MMXX Anno Domini

 Hi Sheepdogs,
 
William Aprill, rest in peace.
https://www.facebook.com/tom.givens.37/posts/10220943782296771
     "With shock and profound sadness I learned today of the loss of my good friend,
William Aprill.  The training community has lost a great mind and a true friend.  
I first met William well over 20 years ago when he took a class of mine at some
police range in Alabama.  I immediately recognized that he had a great deal of
talent with a handgun.  Later, he was one of very few people to earn an Advanced
rating at the Rogers School shooting from concealment.  In that first class together,
I also recognized someone with a keen intellect and a vast and deep understanding
of the workings of the criminal mind.  We had dinner during that class so many years
ago, and I loved his sense of humor and humility.  I believe he presented at every
Tactical Conference we’ve put on, as well as many other conferences.  He was a unique
individual, and he will be sorely missed."  
-- Tom Givens
 
     Get your training while you can.  Feel the urgency to get training.  
I am so glad I was able to attend his lectures and ask him questions before
his passing.  
 
“What we do now echoes in eternity”
-- Marcus Aurelius
 
*****     *****     ***** Software *****     *****     *****
 
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
 
----- Mindset -----
 
It’s about prevention, not response.
-- Michael Mann
 
You are your first responder by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2020/08/02/you-are-your-first-responder/
     Please read Claude's analysis.  
Excerpts:  
"Going outside your home to investigate a suspected crime is, literally, ‘looking for trouble.’ "
"Your presence will not necessarily deter a criminal."
 
Funnybone Fractures And Cracked Concentration by John Connor
https://americanhandgunner.com/guncrank-diaries/funnybone-fractures/
Excerpt:  
     The Big Diff between me an’ Davey was
that previous combat experience had taught me
stuff blows up and weird things happen in gunfights,
and you have to keep your head in the game.
 
“Woman must not depend upon the protection of man,
but must be taught to protect herself.”
-- Susan B. Anthony
 
     If you don't have a plan, you won't have the tools and information ready to
execute your plan (even if you are able to make a plan on the fly).  
     My next door neighbor had no plan for what to do if she locked herself out
of her apartment.  So, she didn't have the emergency maintenance phone number.  
So, she couldn't call them to open her door for her.  
     She later informs me that her plan for all "situations" is to call me.  
So, I guess she did have a plan.  (And I enabled her by making her plan succeed.)
 
Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation
-- John Farnam
 
     Stay within your domain of competence.  
-- Jordan Peterson
 
     You only see what you aim at.  
-- Jordan Peterson
     [This is why, for instance, you did not see the gorilla amongst the basketball players.  
But, Prof. Peterson is making the statement in a much more general sense.  For example,
you won't see your path to family or financial success if you don't aim at it.]
 
    The exchange of truth is curative.
-- Jordan Peterson
     [The further development of the idea is that if you are not exchanging truth with
the person, then you are not in a relationship with that person.  "Relationship" is
used in the technical sense in the field of psychology.]
 
Jordan Peterson: Becoming Mr. Right rather than Mr. Nice guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8-fYbcCpuU
     [This, more than all of your firearms training, will allow you to avoid fights.  
Or, win them, if you must fight. -- Jon Low]
Excerpts:  
     "Without the capability for mayhem, you will be a victim of mayhem."
     "You have to have your sword.  You should keep it sheathed, but you have to have it."
     "They have to learn to be dangerous.  That's the only way out.  What's the alternative?"
     "Being victimized, you can say, it wasn't my fault.  But, that doesn't solve the problem."
     The meek shall inherit the Earth.  Matthew 5:5  But, you have to look up the Greek
word that the translators translated into the English word "meek".  And then look up the
definition of that Greek word.  [Following the etymology of the English word "meek" back
to the Middle English and then back to the Old Norse is just non-sense.]  The Greek word
means having the ability to use force, but choosing not to.  That is to say, those showing
restraint shall inherit the Earth.  If you lack the capability to use force, you have
nothing to restrain.  So, you cannot be meek.  That is why Peterson says cowards hide
behind morality.  
[Prof. Peterson is a psychology professor.  This stuff is graduate level psychology.  
It may sound politically conservative, but it's not.  It's just psychology. -- Jon Low]
 
     "A genuine moral effort is a good substitute for psycho therapy."
-- Jung (as in Carl Gustav Jung)
 
The Importance of Awareness and Avoidance for Personal Defense by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/7/28/the-importance-of-awareness-and-avoidance-for-personal-defense/
Excerpt:  
     "Sometimes, it’s not the bullet with your name on it, it’s the one that says,
“To whom it may concern.” "
     "The best gunfight is truly the one that never happens."
 
How to Establish the Habit of Concealed Carry by Jacob Paulsen
https://www.concealedcarry.com/safety/how-to-establish-the-habit-of-concealed-carry/
 
4 Essential Elements of Self-Defense by Jim Wilson
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2020/8/1/4-essential-elements-of-self-defense/
 
Do You Know The Gun Laws In Your State Or In Your Travels? You Should by Joshua Gillem
https://www.concealedcarry.com/law/do-you-know-the-gun-laws-in-your-state-or-in-your-travels-you-should/
Excerpt:  
     "So, if I know that a place is anti-gun I don't go there. It's really that simple."
 
Your Tactical Training Scenario- Racking a Shotgun by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/your-tactical-training-scenario-racking-a-shotgun-t
Excerpt:  
     A motivated attacker isn’t going to be deterred by anything less than using
more force against him than he is willing to experience.  Rape whistles, yelling
the word “no”, or racking a pump shotgun WILL NOT deter a motivated attacker.  
For that job, ruthless violence is the only solution.
 
Yes, It’s All Your Fault: Active vs. Passive Mindsets by Shane Parrish
https://fs.blog/2019/03/active-mindset/
Excerpt:  
     The hard truth is that most things in your life – good and bad – are your fault.
The sooner you realize that, the better things will be. Here’s how to cultivate
an active mindset and take control of your life.
 
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."  
-- Tom Givens
 
----- Safety -----
 
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I:  All guns are always loaded.
RULE II:  Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
RULE III:  Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
RULE IV:  Be sure of your target.
 
No Relief!
https://defense-training.com/no-relief/
     Because it's not happening in your community, you may be thinking,
"It will never happen here."
With that thinking, you will be taken by surprise, and probably defeated.  
An officer may be forgiven for losing a battle, but will never be forgiven
for being taken by surprise.  
 
"The fast and/or emphatic reholster is an awesome way to shoot yourself."
-- Chuck Haggard
 
"Shopper accidentally shot inside Publix — by his wife's gun" by Doug Phillips
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-ne-pasco-publix-accidental-shooting-20190506-story.html
"They were standing at a Publix register when her purse fell.
Her Derringer fired and hit him." by Paul Guzzo
https://www.tampabay.com/hillsborough/they-were-standing-at-a-publix-register-when-her-purse-fell-her-derringer-fired-and-hit-him-20190506/
     What's wrong with this story?  
     The "two-shot derringer" has no trigger guard.  Such handguns should never be
acquired, much less carried, much less carried off body.  
     The derringer was not in a holster.  Always carry your pistol in a holster.  
     The derringer was not drop safe.  All of your pistols should be drop safe.
     The victim and his wife neglected to get expert training.  Any competent
instructor would have explained the above to them.  
 
Tennessee Fusion Center
https://www.tn.gov/tbi/law-enforcement-resources/tennessee-fusion-center.html
     There is one of these in every state.  Find yours.  Use it.  
 
Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.  
Don't hang out with stupid people.
Be in bed by 10 PM.  Your own bed.
Don't look like a freak.  [Because you draw unwanted attention to yourself.  
     "I have the right to self expression.  I am entitled.  No one can suppress
my free expression."
     I know that's what you want by dressing Goth with piercings and tattoos,
but the bad guys understand it to say, . . . other things.  Just as mini-skirts
and shear halter tops speak loudly of your "intentions".  Actions have
obvious consequences.  Even if the consequences are unintended. -- Jon Low]
Don't fail the attitude test.
-- John Farnam
 
----- Training -----
 
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from Principles of Personal Defense by
Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, (1920 – 2006 A.D.)
 
Left Wing Terrorism - History and Modern Violence - Michael Mann Security Services
https://youtu.be/E9vgOaQCKsU
 
Law of Self Defense News/Q&A Show: Thursdays at 15:00 Central Time
https://www.facebook.com/LawofSelfDefense/
or on YouTube.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/lawofselfdefense
 
Law of Self Defense live online class, $149
3 October 2020 A.D.
https://lawofselfdefense.com/product/live-online-class/
Usually starts at 07:00 central time and goes for 8+ hours.
 
The Well Armed Woman
Concealed Carry for Women Online (pre-recorded) Course, $79.99
https://thewellarmedwoman.com/product/concealed-carry-for-women-online-course/
"The total course time is 3 hours and 50 minutes –  that is a lot of information!
But don’t worry you do not have to do it all at once! It is broken down into
lessons and topics which allow you to take it at your own pace."
 
     Learn how to carry your pistol concealed.  Learn how to operate your pistol
(at least:  presentation from concealment, marksmanship at 7 yards, reloading,
clearing malfunctions).  Learn the laws of self defense (at least for your state).  
Learn how to stop the bleeding (at least:  direct pressure techniques, tourniquet
application, chest sealing, wound packing).  Because someday you will be forced
to use these, knowledge and skill, probably against your will.  
      A Marine Sergeant applied a tourniquet to my nephew's leg, when my nephew
got shot by a sniper (I can't remember the name of the forward operating base.
My son always referred to it as Camp Cupcake.) The Sergeant
had many things to do in this combat situation, but he chose to apply the tourniquet.
He had to have a tourniquet.
He had to known how to apply it, so that he could do it competently and quickly.
He had to decide to do it, as opposed to anything else at the time.
He had to be able to do it in a high stress situation.
     You may have a high stress situation.  A car collision for instance.  Your child's
leg is bleeding.  Would you have a tourniquet?  Do you know how to apply it correctly?  
Have you practiced enough to be able to competently apply it in this situation?  
It's pouring rain.  It's freezing cold.  Other cars are smashing into the cars behind
you.  Did you get the tourniquet on in time?  If not, your child dies.  Reality
has no compassion.  
 
     In case you couldn't get to the Facebook web page for the class on terrorism concerning the
2008 Mumbai Attack: A Case Study in Surveillance Detection - Michael Mann Security Services
https://youtu.be/avwkXNWoYLM
This is well worth watching.  
 
Brownells Daily Defense (video series) by Jeff Gonzales
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRNgjwKiAAEAowjH8A3U-cimqe7WAjOiq
 
Self-Defense Myths That Just Won’t Die: 11 Experts Weigh-In by Melody Lauer
https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/self-defense-myths-just-wont-die-11-experts-weigh/
 
You Must Train With Different Instructors by Short Barrel Shepherd
https://shortbarrelshepherd.com/you-must-train-with-different-instructors/
 
Low Light Skills for Civilians by Tom Givens
https://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020-08_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
page 6.
 
Point Shooting vs Sighted Fire, a Historical Perspective by Tom Givens
https://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020-08_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
page 8.
 
"Straight Talk on Armed Defense", the book.
ISBN-13:  978-1-4402-4754-5
ISBN-10:  1-4402-4754-4
"Armed Citizens Fight Back:  Lessons Learned" by Spencer Blue, the chapter.
"Factors in Losing the Fight", the section, page 143.
Except:  (paraphrased, because I could not cut and paste)
     "A full half of the losses happened when the armed citizen presented a
non-working firearm.  Generally, this was not a mechanical failure of the
weapon, but a user error."  
Case 1.  ". . . The suspect charged Jane and she attempted to fire at him but
the gun did not fire.  . . . [description of disarm and rape] . . . Jane
reported the crime to the police and told the detective she attempted to
shoot the suspect but she did not get the thumb safety off and pulled a
dead trigger.  Jane, to her great credit, vowed to continue to be a
fighter and stated she had purchased a striker-fired pistol with no safety."
     [I recommend striker fired pistols without safeties to my students.  
Here we are talking about thumb safeties that must be intentionally defeated.  
The trigger safeties and the grip safeties are fine because you will
automatically defeat them. -- Jon Low]
Case 2.  "The victim was able to draw a firearm but was shot and killed
before firing it.  The firearm was determined to contain a loaded magazine
but the chamber was empty.  We believe he was intentionally carrying on
an empty chamber."
     [Keep your pistol loaded.  That means a round in the chamber.  
You're never going to have time to chamber a round. -- Jon Low]
Case 3.  A description of off body carry where the good guy was not able
to get the gun before getting shot.  
     [Keep your pistol on your body.  You're never going to have time
to get the gun if it's not on your body. -- Jon Low]
Case 4.  The father never fired a shot.  He just watched his son get shot
(and permanently disabled) and robbed.  Because he wasn't mentally prepared.  
He had no plan.  So, he executed to his plan and did nothing.  His pistol
was still in his pocket as the bad guys drove away.  
Case 5.  Situation in which the bad guy "appeared out of no where".  
     [This is simply a lack of situational awareness.  Keep your head up and
look around. -- Jon Low]
Case 6.  The "good guy" was open carrying while riding a bicycle.  When
stopped for traffic, the bad guy walked up and grabbed his pistol.  
     [Don't open carry.  Open carry in urban areas is an act of criminal
stupidity. -- Jon Low]
 
EP-073 Instructor Development and TACCON by Rob Beckman
http://www.firearmtrainerpodcast.com/2020/08/04/ep-073-instructor-development-and-taccon/
An interview with Tom Givens.
Take Tom's instructor development courses
https://rangemaster.com/training/instructor-development-course/
https://rangemaster.com/training/advanced-instructor-development-course/
https://rangemaster.com/training/master-instructor/
and attend TacCon
https://taccon.info/
to be a better instructor.
 
Urban Targets: A Case Study in Surveillance Detection, Part II - Michael Mann Security Services
https://youtu.be/-B9QpoaETPA
The gun does not stop the attack.  Early detection stops the attack.
 
Dry Practice Function Stacking: Varying The Draw by Justin
https://swiftsilentdeadly.com/dry-practice-function-stacking-varying-the-draw/
 
"Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
 
----- Practice -----
 
     Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
 
Why practice?
    "To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment
when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and
offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique
to them and fitted to their talents.  What a tragedy if
that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that
which could have been their finest hour."
-- Winston Churchill
 
     "Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you
have practiced, no matter how ridiculous."
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
 
----- Techniques -----
 
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
 
Concealed Carry: Point Shooting Vs Aimed Fire by Massad Ayoob
https://gundigest.com/handguns/concealed-carry/concealed-carry-point-shooting-vs-aimed-fire
Excerpt:  
     "Ineffective and potentially dangerous, point shooting should be avoided
at all costs and aimed fire employed in any lethal-force scenario."
     "Law school students are taught that the exemplar of recklessness is a
“blind man with a gun.”  A person who is firing a gun when they can’t see
whether or not it’s on target is, in effect, a blind man with a gun."
 
The Why’s and How’s of Transitioning to a Secondary Weapon by Mike Seeklander
     What the heck is a dead trigger?  Let’s define that term first:  
Anytime you pull the trigger and expect it to go bang, and it doesn’t,
that is a dead trigger.  If you are in a situation like the one described
in the title of this article, it really doesn’t matter why the rifle didn’t
go bang, just that you have a response when it does.  The article that
follows discusses your options.
     If you have a "dead trigger," it is due to either one of three things:
1. the rifle wasn’t loaded in the first place,
2. the rifle ran out of ammunition, or
3. you have some sort of malfunction.  
Common sense would say that if any of these have happened, simply fix the
rifle right?  Maybe not.  Read on.
     Before I teach you how to reload your rifle or clear any malfunction,
I want to discuss the context of the situation and make you think about a
few things.  Dealing with a malfunction or emergency reload situation
requires that the operator thinks about and reacts to what’s going on.   
The common answer might be to perform a reload as quickly as possible,
but let’s consider a few things first.   If you happen to be defending
your home or maybe you’re a law-enforcement officer and you’re doing a
warrant in a house and you’re in a gunfight, when the gun runs empty
you’re likely very, very close to the person you’re shooting it out with.
     If you break the fight down into time, a full reload with an automatic
rifle such as an AR-15 or AK-47 platform is going to take you two seconds
or more to perform.  Clearing a malfunction will take as long or longer.  
If the person you’re shooting at is within at 20 to 30 feet, this means
that they can close the distance and make contact with you well before the
reload is done.  If they are shooting at you, they can likely shoot 8 or
more rounds in those two seconds . . . all coming right toward your
lovely body.  
     Another consideration is when the gun goes dead (i.e. pull trigger
and no bang) you may not know exactly what’s wrong with it.  You don’t
know if it’s a serious malfunction or possibly if your weapon has been
shot and damaged beyond repair.  A damaged rifle is certainly possible,
whether it is from being shot or something simply breaks at that moment
in time.  I recently broke an extractor on my rifle, and guess what,
the rifle becomes a single shot at that time.
     Therefore in a situation where you’re at room to yard distance
(3-20 yards), I recommend strongly that if you’re armed with a handgun
you immediately transition to that handgun.  This guarantees that you
will quickly be able to get rounds on target again.  Think about it in
terms of time and risk.  While a reload with the rifle compared to a
transition to the handgun might require very close to the same amount
of time, the fact that you have a dead trigger on the rifle does not
always mean you can fix it with a reload.  
     What if that dead trigger signifies a catastrophic bolt override
malfunction or something similar?  Most rifle malfunctions that cannot
be cleared with a tap, rack, bang (or ready) will take much more time
to fix.  If the rifle is damaged and shot up as referenced above,
then that particular rifle is now a viable club, but not much more.  
So the solution is to transition to the handgun if you have one,
anytime you have a dead trigger on the rifle.  Don’t think about it,
look at the rifle, weigh your options, etc., just make something happen
that will save your life!  Dump the rifle and transition to the handgun!
Steps to the transition:
   Try to pull the trigger on the rifle (this could happen during a
series of shots), and get either a click, or nothing at all.  
   Recognize the rifle is dead and if the distance is appropriate,
not behind cover, and you have a handgun . . .
   Sweep the rifle out of the way and to your side with your front hand
(the one that was on the front handguard/stock) while building the grip
on your handgun in the holster.  
   After the front hand sweeps the rifle out of the way make sure it
ends up near your chest in a good area to meet the hands together and
build a two-handed grip on the handgun.  
   Engage with the handgun as appropriate.  
     Keep in mind that the handgun is now your primary weapon,
so finish the fight with it and then follow your post engagement actions.  
Consider:
   Finishing the shooting.  
   Scanning the threat and all areas around you (with the handgun as
the primary weapon, remember the rifle is dead).  
   Retrieving and looking at the rifle once the fight is over and
assessing if it is a problem you can fix (*reload or clear the malfunction).
If so . . .
   Holster the handgun and fix the rifle.
     The rifle is now your primary weapon again.
     So let’s assume that the distance is great enough that transitioning
to a handgun is not feasible or you don’t have a handgun to transition to.   
In this case during the fight when the rifle goes dead your options are to
fix it by performing a reload or clearing the malfunction.  Additionally,
let’s say you’re at a very close range and you don’t have a handgun, you
might have to initiate some sort of combatives and strike the threat with
the rifle.  Another option is to use explosive movement to get to a safer
spot like a piece of cover, or at a minimum put distance between you and
the threat before attempting to reload or clear the malfunction.  
     One last thought I want you to consider – if you are transitioning
because of a dead rifle, that does not always mean you are transitioning
to a handgun.  Consider your other weapons, such as a knife if you carry
one, or possibly your own combative skills like punches and kicks.  The point
is that you are transitioning to another weapon system; so don’t forget
the tools you possess.  Train with them!  
     Training for the transition requires that you work with a drill that
will truly simulate what you want to happen.  This is where you need to
address your own personal situation.  Consider this:  
     If you are likely to be armed with a handgun when you deploy your rifle,
then train the handgun transition as your immediate response.  No need to
look at the rifle or think about it, simply go to the next weapon system.  
If the distance and circumstance limits your ability to hit with the handgun,
then obviously stick with the rifle and fix it if possible.  Set up drills
that mimic these needs.  For example, practice the transition at distances
from 3-10 yards, and set up a secondary drill with a piece of cover
(like a barricade) and practice ducking behind cover and reloading the rifle
or clearing the malfunction.
     If you are likely to be armed with a rifle ONLY (like I was during my
career in the U.S.M.C) then train yourself to respond accordingly.  For
example if you are training in the 3-10 yard range, your response to a dead
trigger while under fire might be an immediate muzzle strike to the target
if you are in range, then a reload.  If you are a bit farther away,
sprinting offline to another position (like a room or piece of cover) would
be your response.  So the stimulus response might be: dead trigger – strike
the target (0-3 yards) or dead trigger – sprint offline (4-10 yards).
     In addition, I recommend NEVER training transition drills by keeping
the rifle loaded and "simulating the dead trigger."  An example I watched
was a group of individuals that were practicing the transition by shooting
a couple shots, then flipping their safety on, and transitioning to the
handgun (the rifle was still loaded).  Two problems with that is that it
does not give your brain the proper stimulus to learn (dead trigger), and
secondly they were sweeping a loaded rifle out of the way with the potential
of having a safety problem if for some reason they failed to get the safety
back on.  In that case they would have had a loaded, un-safed rifle hanging
off their body pointing wherever.
     So practice your transition drill with either the reload option or
malfunction option.  To do this:  
     Reload option: Set your rifle up with one round in the chamber and an
empty magazine.  Mount and shoot the rifle (try to shoot twice).  The rifle
trigger will go "dead."  Transition to the handgun and finish your job,
then go through the process of reloading the rifle.  After that, set the
drill back up again by putting the full magazine back into the rifle.
     Malfunction Option: Set your rifle up with a magazine loaded with live
ammunition and dummy rounds.  Practice shooting 1-4 rounds (I call this a
progression of 4) and when you get a click (from the dummy round) go through
the same transition process.  The only difference in this option is that
after you have finished your job with the handgun you will have to clear
the malfunction on the rifle.  If you place several dummy rounds in your
magazine, you can practice the drill over and over.
    A sample drill can be watched here:  
Defensive Rifle Transition Drill
https://vimeo.com/118343782
 
Situational Awareness – Everything You Need to Know
https://www.survivalsullivan.com/new-take-situational-awareness/
 
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
     This is especially true in writing.  In English class we were taught to
re-write, that means to delete extraneous words, sentences, and paragraphs.  
The more you re-write, the shorter your prose become, the better your prose
become.  (English teachers who require a minimum page count on a writing
assignment are bad teachers.  Those who set a maximum page count are good
teachers.  Explain how to clean a pistol to a person who has never cleaned
a pistol before, in one page or less.  We will give your paper to a novice
student to use as instructions on cleaning his pistol.  If he finishes
with a functioning clean pistol, you pass.  Otherwise, you fail.  
Now that's a homework assignment for an English class.)
 
----- Tactics -----
 
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
 
How to Win a Street Fight by Tom Marlowe
https://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/fighting-dirty-secret-selfdefense/
Excerpt:  
1.  Detect Attack Before It Starts
2.  Evade the Attack Before It Starts
3.  Win the Fight and Stop the Attack
4.  Get Away and Prevent Follow-On Attack
     [This is a taste of reality for those of us who live in a civilized world,
and have never ventured out into the jungle.  You have noticed how big cities
have quickly turned into jungles.  The federal troops went in to protect the
federal buildings, the court houses, and such; not you.  Only you will protect
you. -- Jon Low]
 
     Once you engage in a fight, you run a greater than zero chance of
dying and a greater than zero chance of spending the rest of your life
in prison.  No matter how skilled you are.  No matter how justified you
are. -- Andrew Branca (paraphrased)
 
You win gunfights by not getting shot.
-- John Holschen
 
----- Education -----
 
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
 
     In my 34 years in the Marine Corps, I never met a Marine who told me that he had
read the U.S. Constitution beginning to end.  The vast majority told me that they had
never read any of it.  All of these persons had sworn an oath to uphold and defend the
U.S. Constitution, with lethal force if necessary.  
     One of my pastors told me that when he was attending seminary, many of his fellow
students admitted that they had never read the Bible cover to cover.  All of these
students would be teaching the meaning of this book to others.  
     Unfortunately, I could give a lot more examples like these.
     Please urge your students, subordinates, loved ones, etc. to read these
important documents.  Our western civilization is based on one. Our country
is based on the other.  Choosing the wrong side in a war or coup or schism is really bad.  
If you don't understand these documents, you could easily choose the wrong side.
 
Accuracy vs. Precision: Sharpen Your Shooting Skills by Lynsey Davis
https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2020/8/5/accuracy-vs-precision-sharpen-your-shooting-skills/
     If you are not shooting tight groups, don't waste your time moving your sights.  
It's you, not the pistol.  
     If you are shooting tight groups (all bullet holes touching at 5 yards slow fire),
then it makes sense to move your sights, if your point of impact is not your point of aim.  
     All self-defense pistols from reputable manufactures are test fired before being
shipped to you.  So, it's likely they are zeroed for self-defense distances.  So, if
your point of aim is not your point of impact, you might want to have a knowledgeable
person watch you shoot.  It's amazing the things we do that we don't know we are doing.  
For example, closing your eyes, not using your sights correctly, not gripping correctly,
involuntarily and unconsciously flinching (because you haven't achieved a surprise
break), using the image from the wrong eye (because both of your eyes are open), etc.  
     If you have bought a used pistol, the previous owner may have monkeyed with the sights.  
(Probably with a file, a hammer, and a punch.  WRONG!)  So, you may have to adjust the
sights (with the correct tools, please).  
     If you (a right handed shooter) are scattering your shots low left, it's you, not
the pistol.  You are anticipating the recoil and pushing against it.  This is very
common and often subconscious.  The solution is to practice and achieve a surprise break.  
If you don't know what this is, find an instructor and learn.  (Left handed shooters
will scatter low right, when anticipating the recoil and pushing against it.)  
 
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
 
*****     *****     ***** Hardware (which includes you) *****     *****     *****
 
"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley
 
----- Gear -----
 
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
 
30 July 20 by John Farnam
TSA “refines” rules for transport of guns in checked baggage on domestic commercial flights:
As of this month, TSA is now requiring that all guns within hard or soft checked baggage be
contained within a separate, hard, locked case.
The separate hard case containing the guns(s) themselves must be locked, and when locked,
not easily pried open.
Having pistols inside a zipped, soft gun-rag, all within a hard piece of check baggage,
does not suffice!
This requirement is easily met!
“Travel Armor” is making hard cases specifically designed for commercial air travel.
Web Page is at
travelarmorcase.com
I've been flying since last year with my Travel Armor cases.
They're light, so they don't add much weight.
They're strong, secure, and the locking system is the one TSA likes most!
Their current line-up includes single and double-pistol cases, and magazine cases.  
They easily fit within my regular, checked baggage,
As noted, I fly with Travel Armor cases regularly, as recently as last week!
They solve the issue described above.
Recommended!
/John Farnam
 
     A helicopter flew in with a patient from Kentucky.  A 15 minute flight to Knoxville.  
But, none of the hospitals in Knoxville would accept him (you need a doctor willing
to admit the patient), so they few 1.5 hours to us in Nashville.  The flight crew had
never been to TriStar Southern Hill Medical Center in Nashville before.  Their GPS would
have put them down in the Walmart parking lot a quarter mile away.  So, they were circling
overhead trying to find our landing pad.  The landing pad lights were completely washed
out by the city lights of Nashville.  The pilot had night vision goggles, but they did
not help.  The pilot told me that if it were not for my flashlight signalling them,
they would never have found the pad.  (Our helicopter pad is not directly adjacent
to the hospital.  A Nashville Fire Department ambulance has to transport the patient
from our pad to the emergency room.)  So, having a 1000 lumen flashlight that a
helicopter can see from 5 miles away is very useful.  Blinding bad guys is also nice.  
 
Question from a Patron [concerning small low capacity handguns] by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2020/08/07/question-from-a-patron/
Excerpt:  
     "Periodically, I hear the quip “no one in a gunfight says they brought
too much ammunition.” My response to that is that a lot of people who are
attacked think “I wish I’d brought my gun.” "
     "With respect to one of my colleagues [Clint Smith], the concept
“It should be comforting not comfortable” is probably the most foolish
and out of touch saying that has ever been uttered in the training community."
 
Tips To Achieve Ultimate Comfort In Concealed Carry by Joshua Gillem
https://www.concealedcarry.com/uncategorized/tips-to-achieve-ultimate-comfort-in-concealed-carry/
 
Skill Set: Context & Conditions by Tiger McKee
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/b69fa9f2-589f-49a9-97de-8230c29834f5
 
3 Things To Look For In A Concealed Carry Holster by Sara Tipton
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/gun-for-beginners-three-things-to-look-for-in-a-concealed-carry-rig/
 
1986 Miami Shootout: The Aftermath by Edmundo Mireles
https://gundigest.com/tactical/1986-miami-shootout-the-aftermath
Excerpt:  
     ". . . The group consensus on handgun ammo was that “size” did matter.
A larger handgun bullet caused larger wounds, which in turn generally led
to rapid, faster bleeding. Rapid bleeding led to quicker incapacitation,
either by passing out or death."
     "A person with fifteen-round magazines can keep fighting. Replacing a
magazine is easier and faster than reloading a revolver.  This led the FBI
transition from revolvers to high capacity pistols."
     "The FBI . . . Firearms Training Unit (FTU) . . . started to add more
“combat” shooting courses: Moving and shooting, shooting one-handed,
reloading one-handed, shooting with your weak hand, shooting at moving
targets, shooting from cars, and shooting at smaller targets.  It added a
more realistic style of training as opposed to shooting in straight lines
at stationary targets."
 
“Your car is not a holster.”
– Pat Rogers
 
----- Technical -----
 
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
 
Off-Body CCW For the Disabled: Why & How by Dr. Joseph Logar, PT, DPT
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/7/28/off-body-ccw-for-the-disabled-why-how/
     If you've never had a disabled person in one of your classes,
you might want to do some out reach.  
     I once had a lady, who was missing both of her hands, attend a class.  
I had to admit that I lacked the training and knowledge to help her.  
But, she hung out to observe and take part in the discussions after the
lectures.  She handled the babies and cooking chores effortlessly.  
So, she was not disabled except in the technical sense of not being able
to hold the pistol and manipulate the trigger.  
     I had referred her to a previous USA Shooting Paralympic National Team Coach,
as he had always been very helpful.  The present
Paralympic National Team Coach & Manager is Will Anti,
william.anti@usoc.org
So, you could contact him for help with disabled shooters.  
 
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
 
*****     *****     ***** Instruction *****     *****     *****

Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
 
----- Instructors -----
 
Remember, the students who require the extra effort are the ones who need us the most!
-- John Farnam
 
     When your dental hygienist tells you that you need to floss your teeth,
she is correct.  She is a highly trained professional who knows what she is
talking about.  To ignore her is WRONG.  
     You can't smell your bad breath because it is normal to you.  If you worked
around chlorine swimming pools all day long, you would not think that the pools
smelled bad.  But, the chlorine would still be toxic, poisonous, and nasty.
     You have to floss your teeth correctly to remove the plaque from the sides
of your teeth below the gum line.  Brushing will not do this.  If you don't remove
the plaque daily, it will turn into tarter (calculus), and eventually destroy
your teeth.  
     "But, Staff, I am 53 years old and have never had a cavity.  So, I don't
need to floss."  
     That is exactly the same as saying, "I've been teaching for 53 years and
have never had a negligent discharge, so I don't need to follow all the silly
safety rules."  Being lucky doesn't mean shit.  If you don't religiously follow
the safety rules, you are WRONG!  If you don't floss your teeth daily, you are
WRONG!   
 
You Must Train With Different Instructors by Short Barrel Shepherd
https://shortbarrelshepherd.com/you-must-train-with-different-instructors/
     This is the same citation as in the Training Section above.  
But, it is so much more important for you, the instructor.  
Tom Givens takes classes from other instructors all the time.  Follow
his example.  
 
     Be careful what you teach.  Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do, no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
 
----- Pedagogy -----
 
Teach positive.  Teach what to do.  Don't talk about what not to do.
-- John Farnam
 
The Lost Art of Mentoring
https://www.gunsandammo.com/editorial/lost-art-mentoring/382735
     Maybe they don't need an instructor.  Maybe they need a friend.  
You are the ambassador of our shooting culture.  Strive to be a
competent diplomat.  
 
How to motivate yourself to change your behavior by Dr. Tali Sharot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp0O2vi8DX4
1.  Social incentives
2.  Immediate reward
3.  Progress monitoring
4.  Sense of control
 
Scenario Training Ideas from “The Upside of Irrationality” by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/scenario-training-ideas-from-the-upside-of-irrationality
 
Defensive tactics training: Using Big Ben to escape from a headlock by Lt. Dan Marcou
https://www.police1.com/police-training/articles/defensive-tactics-training-using-big-ben-to-escape-from-a-headlock-CT6k238pOEAyYx91/
Excerpt:  
     “KISS,” which stands for, "Keep it simple stupid!" (The stupid is the trainer, not the trainee.)
[You may have to register to see this article.  But, the registration is fairly painless.]  
     This technique isn't effective on biologic females.  You could injure your hand
or wrist by banging it into a pelvic bone.  
 
     An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.  
-- "Building Shooters" by Dustin Solomon
 
*****     *****     ***** Legal, Political, and Philosophical *****     *****     *****
 
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
 
     Andrew Branca's info-graphic describing the 5 elements of the law of self defense.
https://lawofselfdefense.com/beginjourney/
 
Gabe Suarez Commentary on communism in our country
https://vimeo.com/442861067
     Words of wisdom from someone who was there in Cuba.
Please take this seriously.  Black Lives Matter is a communist organization.  
 
Compel Aggressor to Work for the Fight by Andrew Branca and Don West
https://lawofselfdefense.com/branca-west-compel-aggressor-to-work-for-the-fight/
(Transcript is included, so you don't have to watch the video.)
Excerpt:  
     ". . . 13 states impose a legal duty to retreat before you can use force in self-defense."
     "Your job is to make it hard for that other person to compel you to use force against them."
     "I think a lot of people have a naiveté or almost an ignorance of how the criminal justice
system actually works."
     "If you’re convicted, you’ve been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  
All the presumptions on appeal are against you.  They’re no longer in your favor.
It’s a much higher, uphill battle to win an appeal than it was to try to win
a trial, and you’ve already lost a trial.  Going to appeal is not a winning
strategy.  It’s what you do as a desperate last resort."
 
“Don’t be so Square!”
https://defense-training.com/dont-be-so-square/
     Don't think, "That could never happen here."  It is happening here.  
I'm sure you're smart (you're reading this).  But, you might not be politically
aware.  You might believe things that are false.  
     "There is no journalism, there is only propaganda."
-- Prof. Yerkes, English Department, Columbia University (the one in NY city)
 
News/QA Show: August 6, 2020 by Attorney Andrew Branca
https://lawofselfdefense.com/news-qa-show-august-6-2020/
     Andrew gives us 3 examples of prosecutions of the innocent to get the prosecutor
re-elected or elected.  In all cases the evidence was overwhelming.  The prosecutor
knew she could never get a coviction.  She tried the case to get votes to win an
election that she was otherwise sure to lose.  This is reality.  Don't waste your
time complaining about it.  Prepare for it.  Buy insurance.  Get educated.  Get trained.  
     "Oh, that would never happen to me.  I'm not white (caucasian)."
     George Zimmerman wasn't white.  He didn't look white.  But, CNN called him white.  
So, the prosecutor could use the narrative to get re-elected.  Welcome to the real world.  
 
Understanding Post-Incident Legal Assistance Plans by Marty Hayes, J.D.
(Sorry, I couldn't get a working URL.)
Excerpt:  (paraphrased, because I could not cut and paste)
     "In my experience, conclusions the police draw and even the
scene investigation done by law enforcement can be very wrong."
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NSSF: Firearm Purchases by Black Men and Women up 58% from 2019 by AWR Hawkins
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/08/04/nssf-firearm-purchases-by-black-men-and-women-up-58-from-2019/
 
'It’s my constitutional freaking right':
Black Americans arm themselves in response to pandemic, protests
By MAYA KING
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/26/black-americans-gun-owners-380162
 
National African American Gun Owners’ Association
https://naaga.co/
 
Black Gun Owners Association
https://blackgunownersassociation.org/
 
National Black Rifle and Gun Association ("Black" doesn't refers to the rifle.)
https://officialblacknra.org/
 
     Isn't everyone pro-gun?
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
      I viewed a CCW Safe analysis of Mr. and Mrs. McCloskey in St. Louis, MO, an
analysis by Andrew Branca, and an analysis by US Law Shield.  The opinions did not
differ much.  The important points were:  The rioters were not just on the
McCloskey's property.  The rioters broke down a fence to a gated community.  So,
the road was private property.  Everything within the fence was private property.  
The McCloskeys are hard core liberals who support Black Lives Matter.  Black Lives
Matter mob trespasses on the McCloskeys' property and threatens to hurt them and
kill their dog.  (Threatening a man's dog is beyond the pale.)  The Republican
(conservative) Missouri Attorney General has filed a motion to have the charges
against the McCloskeys dismissed.  The irony is breathtaking.  
     You think the McCloskeys will convert to conservative Republican?
 
Don’t Feed The Gun Prohibitionists!
https://www.ccrkba.org/antigunbusinesses
     I changed my cell phone carrier from AT&T to a local company.
It was very easy.  
 
     If you can't intelligently argue with your friends as to why capitalism is
vastly superior to socialism/communism, Liz Wheeler explains it here,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi2YoOj70L4
in 4 minutes.  Beauty and brains.  
 
Cases of the Week: Aug. 12, 2020 (Murder-for-hire ≠ Self-defense!) by Attorney Andrew Branca
https://lawofselfdefense.com/cases-of-the-week-aug-12-2020-murder-for-hire-%e2%89%a0-self-defense/
     What this article is really about is that if you are stupid or have a stupid
attorney and do stupid things at trial, you can open the door for the prosecution
to present evidence to the jury that would normally be inadmissible.  When hiring
an attorney (as with everything else in this world) you get what you pay for.  
That's why you have to have insurance and a list of top notch attorneys to choose
from.  In America, you get as much justice as you can pay for up front.  
     I have had good outcomes in court because I have always paid my attorneys in
full up front.  The attorney knows that if he bills you after the case is decided
he is never going to get paid.  That's why every legitimate attorney demands payment
in full up front.  
     Please note that the defendant in this case was a firearms instructor.  Though
I have not been able to find his name on any of the NRA instructor lists, nor any
other instructor list that I am privy to.  So, maybe he just claimed the title.  
 
NRA Sued in New York, Washington, D.C. by Dave Workman
https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/exclusives/nra-sued-in-new-york-washington-d-c/
     The article has links to the primary source documents, the charges filed by
the New York and Washington, District of Columbia Attorneys General.  
 
5 Things You Need To Know About Kamala Harris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGvCV6nlDn0
     Sun Tsu said you have to know your enemy to have any chance of defeating him.  
 
News/Q&A Show: August 13, 2020 by Attorney Andrew Branca
https://lawofselfdefense.com/news-qa-show-august-13-2020/
 
“Is there no virtue among us?
If there is not, we are without hope!
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.
To think that any government, in any form,
will insure liberty and happiness for an dishonorable population
represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
 
*****     *****     ***** Survival, Medical, Security, and such *****     *****     *****
 
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
 
Threat Journal
https://threatjournal.com/archive/tj08012020.html
https://threatjournal.com/archive/tj08082020.html
 
Heavy flow is not massive hemorrhage: Tampons don’t belong in IFAKs by Mike Shertz
https://www.crisis-medicine.com/heavy-flow-is-not-massive-hemorrhage-tampons-dont-belong-in-ifaks/
     As a scholar, I rely on peer reviewed journals.  So, should you.  
As Mr. Shertz points out, absorbing blood is not the same as stopping bleeding.  
 
Anatomy of an Assault: The 5-Step Attack Cycle by Steve Tarani
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/8/2/anatomy-of-an-assault-the-5-step-attack-cycle/
Excerpts:  
     ". . . the Attack Cycle: Look, Choose, Stalk, Close, Strike."
     "Break the Cycle
Three easy ways to break the cycle:
1: Don’t put yourself in harm’s way (no need to go to the ATM at 2 a.m. in a bad neighborhood)
2: Don’t be an attractive victim (cash hanging out of your purse, belligerent or drunk in public, etc.)
3: Make the bad guy ask the question “Are there softer targets around?” and answer “Yes.” "
 
Defeating facial recognition software --
"Fawkes: Protecting Privacy against Unauthorized Deep Learning Models" by
Shawn Shan†, Emily Wenger†, Jiayun Zhang, Huiying Li, Haitao Zheng, Ben Y. Zhao†denotes co-first authors with equal contributionComputer Science, University of Chicago{shansixiong, ewillson, jiayunz, huiyingli, htzheng, ravenben}@cs.uchicago.edu
http://people.cs.uchicago.edu/~ravenben/publications/pdf/fawkes-usenix20.pdf
     The idea is to cloak any photo of you before you transmit or publish it anywhere.  
Then when pictures are taken of you in the wild, they cannot be matched to identified
pictures of you on the internet.  
 
     Keep your gut healthy, sauerkraut and kimchee whenever you can.
 
Willingness is a state of mind.  Preparedness (or lack thereof) is a fact.
 
*****     *****     ***** Basics *****     *****     *****
 
“Often, it’s what you don’t know that kills you!”
-- Carr
 
     "Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
 
*****     *****     ***** Miscellany *****     *****     *****
 
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
 
     May I enthusiastically recommend
Spartan Hunting Preserve
https://boarhuntingtn.com/
     I paid in full up front for my son's boar hunt.  I received no discounts
and no freebies.
     Mitch and Joy Kemmer run a first class operation.  The lodge is clean and well
furnished.  (We always took off our shoes before entering the lodge, but you don't
have to.)  The hunt is well guided and efficient (they don't waste your time).  
The food is like mom's home cooking, good and yummy.
(Mitch and Joy's cousins are the kitchen staff.)  
     You can zero your rifle from the porch of the lodge down into a gully.  The
range is 60 yards (according to my son's laser range finder).  If you can't get
your rifle zeroed, they have rifles they will loan you for your hunt.  Several of
the hunters that we met there were hunting with cross bows, compound bows, and
long bows.  An 11 year old boy took a boar with compound bow a few hours before
I arrived.  He was bouncing around with joy.  
     They have all kinds of animals for you to hunt.  And their guides (Mitch and
Joy's adult children) will find what you want and set you up in position to take
the game.
    This is the sort of hunt you take your child or grandfather on.
No 50 mile hike with backpack over rough hilly terrain.
     They drove us to the blind in all terrain vehicles.  The blinds were
large and roomy with chairs.  If we saw what we wanted, we could shot
it from the blind.  The guide told us to stay in the blind, so that the guides will
know where everyone is, so no one gets shot accidentally.  We saw all kinds of wildlife
from the blind, but not what we had come for (a feral or Russian boar).  Later in
the day a guide came to our blind and led us to the top of a hill with a view into
a gully where a large boar and a couple of piglets were grazing.
     My son shot the boar from about 60 or 70 yards downhill, using a tree as a brace.  
The single shot from his 30-06 Tika (Finnish) rifle took the boar behind the shoulder
and it went down immediately.  (We did not have to track a bleeding animal.  Which
I have done in the past.)
     After he shot the boar, the piglets immediately started licking the blood.
The guide chased the piglets away and we took some pictures.  The tusks on the
boar were the size of my son's hands.
     The guides and staff gutted and carried the 500+ pound boar out for us.
They hung it up on a stand to let the blood drain and allow us to take pictures.
     I wasn't hunting.  I just went along as body guard for my son.  His mother and
wife would have been very angry with me if he had gotten gored.  I carried by
AR-15 type rifle on a two point sling.  
     At 61 years of age, this is my sort of hunt.  I'm too old to carry or drag a
500 pound boar out of the woods over hill and dale.
     Dogwood Baptist Church is adjacent to the lodge, if you happen to be there
on a Sunday.  
     $950 for the hunt including food and lodging for as long as it takes you to
get your boar (I arrived Friday evening had dinner and slept.  My son arrived Saturday
morning.  He had shot his boar by mid-afternoon.)  They had it butcher and in ice
chests for him to take by Saturday evening, $300.  $1200 for the taxidermy to do a
shoulder mount.  And I left a tip for the guides and kitchen staff.  
 
     Gun Cranks with Brent Wheat, Tom McHale, and Roy Huntington
Wednesdays at 19:00 on YouTube.com
Guncranks Live!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHQfhDyZ8yw&list=PLVNFxu_2AK44bHcYVSNNLfnLpJ-sO4t2h
FMG Publications
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLqg5DCTFuqKHkLZTG4GxrA
 
“In the long-run, there is no such thing as ‘luck’.
However, the short-run is longer than many individual lifetimes!”
-- Anon
 
     A CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate for children) called me to help out,
because she was accompanying a foster parent and child to a meeting with the
biological mother and they knew that the biological mother's boyfriend (long
criminal record) would be in the vicinity and that they would probably attempt
to kidnap the child.  (Hey, when the state takes custody of a child and the
parent takes the child, that's kidnapping.)  They gave me pictures and descriptions
of the boyfriend and vehicle.  He's parked in the parking lot of the Burger
King with the engine running.  I walk up, smile, and say, "It's not a good day
for this operation.  There are several officers in the parking lot.  We know
what you're doing."  He gives me an angry look and drives away.  
     Use your words.  They are powerful.  
 
10 Things The Aliens Forgot To Tell Us When They Left Us Here
https://jamesaltucher.com/blog/aliens-10-things-to-be-informed/
 
/* Random data from the HotBits radioactive random number generator */
unsigned char hotBits[128] =
{   146, 199, 126, 212, 120, 129, 228, 32, 141, 157, 39, 62, 32, 112, 60,
    76, 240, 119, 197, 112, 217, 99, 84, 86, 66, 154, 183, 97, 5, 182, 117,
    218, 148, 253, 169, 83, 6, 42, 198, 213, 235, 157, 218, 164, 164, 183,
    24, 87, 252, 230, 159, 89, 145, 60, 197, 79, 14, 0, 173, 5, 239, 181,
    137, 183, 142, 132, 141, 140, 132, 144, 176, 144, 123, 100, 173, 102,
    146, 225, 67, 38, 92, 220, 30, 217, 43, 41, 120, 149, 170, 3, 157, 29,
    36, 106, 22, 139, 114, 93, 122, 98, 93, 87, 187, 22, 255, 149, 84, 55,
    71, 197, 245, 249, 53, 125, 165, 152, 187, 102, 71, 27, 167, 20, 2, 1,
    167, 26, 80, 246
};
 
     "Hey, Staff, why don't you have any pictures in your blog postings?"
     A picture may be worth a thousand words, but pictures also attract
internet trolls.  Especially bright colorful high resolution photographs.  
Reading prose is an effort barrier that causes the lazy to neglect
my humble blog.  I would prefer to avoid having to deal with the activism
of the intellectually lazy.  
 
     I know these blog postings are too long.  
"If I had had more time, I would have written a shorter letter." -- Napoleon
 
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com