CWP, 28 February 2014 A.D.
Greetings Concealed Weapons Permittees,

***** Lessons Learned *****

One of our friends sent me an email. 
Paraphrased excerpt:
     "A friend of mine with a PX4 Storm
http://www.px4storm.us/default_us.aspx
recently had a negligent discharge in
his home.  No one was injured ...
... it comes around to the second
rule of weapons handling: Never point a
weapon at anything you do not intend to
shoot.
     When he de-cocked the pistol it
discharged. Upon returning the gun to
the store, they discovered that the
firing pin block was not present in the
pistol. Just goes to show that anything
can happen at any time, even with brand
new firearms."

     Yes, that's why we train.  We have to
find manufacturing defects in training,
not in combat.

     If you get something stuck in the barrel
and use your cleaning rod to clear your
barrel, make sure to remove the cleaning
rod from the barrel before shooting the
gun.
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/02/19/338-lapua-magnum-kaboom/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=2014-02-25&utm_campaign=Weekly+Newsletter

***** Training *****

     Our NRA Defensive Pistol class attempted single person
building clearing at night with flashlights this past Monday.
It is a common mistake in daylight scenarios to extend your
pistol and hands past corners or past cover, because the
bad guy hiding on the other side can grab your pistol and hands.
The gun schools teach, "Don't crowd cover.  Stay away from
corners and walls." 
     When shooting at night with a flashlight, push the
emitting end of the flashlight out in front of anything
that you are using for cover.  If you have the flashlight
too far back, the light will reflect off of the cover and
illuminate you. Yes, this exposes your gun and hands to
an enemy hiding around the corner, so be careful. 
If you don't push the flashlight out in front of the cover,
the reflected light can blind you or kill your night
vision for several seconds.
(Thanks to Jonathan Clapp, BestDefenseLLC.com)
     It is a common mistake to go to fast.  If you go too
fast, you won't see the enemy threats.  It is not unusual
in IDPA and IPSC matches for the Safety Officer to
inform the shooter, after the string of fire, that the
shooter failed to engage a target or two.  It's even
easier to miss seeing targets in the dark.  We train to
find out how slowly we need to go to actually see all
the threats.  It's pretty slow.  It's also a matter of
attitude:  are you playing a game or searching for
life threatening enemies?

***** Gear *****

     Advantages and disadvantages of a rail mounted
light as opposed to a hand held flashlight.
http://www.glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1520160
     Primary source referred to in the above article.
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob128.html

     "Because I like big guns and I cannot lie."
http://blog.beretta.com/four-ways-to-carry-a-full-size-gun
"Five Ways To Do Concealed Carry with a Full Size Gun"
by Tom McHale.

***** Reading *****

Massad Ayoob's blog.
http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/

Beretta's free ebook,
"Ten Essential Tips for CCW Holders"
http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/302700/file-356950560-pdf/10-CCW-Tips.pdf?t=1382321205000

***** Technical *****

Ballistics calculators (probably more than you'll ever need)
http://www.jbmballistics.com/ballistics/calculators/calculators.shtml

Cheers,
Jon