CWP, 5 March 2014 A.D.
Greetings Concealed Weapons Permittees,

NRA Defensive Pistol class, see attached flier.

***** Training *****

     When teaching others, it is often difficult
to put yourself in the student's shoes.  It has
been so long since you were a novice that every
thing seems normal, natural, and comfortable to
you.  Not so for the student.
     Try this.  If you are right handed, get a
left handed holster and teach left handed.  This
will allow you to face your right handed students
when on the firing line as you demonstrate
techniques.

***** Gear *****

     The March 2014, Volume 26, Number 3, issue of
"Shooting Sports USA"
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nra/ssusa_201403/
has an article on trigger shoes, page 20. 
     Trigger shoes will defeat the trigger safety
of pistols that have a trigger safety.  So, should
not be used.
     As almost all modern concealed carry holsters
secure the pistol by friction on the trigger guard,
installing a trigger shoe would cause the holster
to push the trigger to the rear when the pistol is
inserted into the holster (unless, in the case of
a 1911, the thumb safety was on) causing the pistol
to fire.
     So, putting a trigger shoe on a self-defense
pistol is a bad idea.
     There is also an advertisement for grip tape,
similar to that used by tennis players on the handle
of their rackets, to be used on the grip of pistols.
As this would defeat grip safeties, this is not
appropriate for pistols with grip safeties.
     But, Staff, this is obvious.  Why do you waste
time mentioning it? 
     A few years ago at Front Sight, I saw a
gentleman shoot himself in the right leg when
attempting to holster.  He had installed a trigger
shoe on his 1911 type pistol and had neglected to
thumb the safety on before holstering.  The holster
pushed the edges of the trigger shoe back and
fired the pistol.  The bullet entered the outside
of his right thigh and exited the inside of his
ankle.  A helicopter took him to a hospital in
Las Vegas.
     I have seen many shooters wrap grip tape
around the grips of their pistols (defeating
the grip safeties).  I have seen gentlemen at
IDPA matches and IPSC matches with rubber bands
around their grips to defeat the grip safeties.
     Yes, it's ignorant.  But, the gun loving
population is similar to the population at large.
Ignorance runs rampant.  It is up to us to
speak out against ignorance, by educating.
I know some people don't like being told that
what they are doing is dangerous, especially
in front of their children or their girlfriends. 
So, you have to be tactful.
     Remember, you're doing them a great favor,
whether they appreciate it or not.
     You wouldn't let a guy take his wife and
kids out on a boat without life vests, would you?
     Same thing, you're saving lives.  Not as
heroic as shooting the bad guy, but just as
effective.
     I was a Staff Sergeant before I realized
that they guys doing the logistics are the ones
responsible for the success of the mission.
The logisticians are the ones saving lives.
     "Amateurs talk tactics.  Professionals
talk logistics." -- Napoleon

***** Review *****

     I've been using a StreamLight Strion LED flashlight
recently and have found it quite good.  Rechargeable
lithium battery; comes with the charger and an
adapter for a standard American wall outlet and
an automobile cigarette lighter.
     Unfortunately, no pouch was included for
carrying the flashlight.
     The function is correct.  Thumb pressure switch
at the rear; press on, release off.
     260 lumens (10,000 Candela), run time 2 hours.
(In my humble opinion, 200 lumens or more is
necessary to blind your enemy.  If you blind him,
you might not have to shoot him, and that's a big
win for you.)
     Aluminum body, length 5.9 inches, weight 5.2 ounces.
     Assembled in the USA of foreign parts.
     I bought it retail for $160.
     Three intensities achieved by pressing the
pressure switch further in until it clicks and
releasing when the desired intensity appears.
260 Lumens, 10,000 Candela, run time 2 hours.
130 Lumens,  5,000 Candela, run time 4 hours.
 65 Lumens,  2,500 Candela, run time 7.5 hours.
     Strobe achieved by pressing the pressure
switch further in and clicking it twice, like
a double click on a computer mouse.
Strobe, 260 Lumens, 10,000 Candela, run time 5.5 hours.
     Water resistant.
     May be dropped from a distance of 2 meters
without damage (I assume this is within the
Earth's gravitational field, near the Earth's
surface, onto a hard surface.)
     Recharges in about 2 hours.  Cannot be
overcharged, the circuitry is intelligent.
     The switch in the tail cap is electronic,
not mechanical.
     The Light Emitting Diode runs cool, so
you can't use the flashlight to light your
cigarettes.
Candela:  unit of luminous intensity in the
International System of Units (SI), formally defined
as the luminous intensity of a source that
emits monochromatic radiation of frequency
5.40 × 10E14 Hertz (green light) and that has
a radiant intensity of 1/683 Watts per steradian.
Watt:  unit of power in the International System
of Units (SI), equivalent to one Joule per second.
Lumen:  the derived SI unit of luminous flux;
the flux emitted in a solid angle of 1 steradian
by a point source having a uniform intensity
of 1 candela. Abbreviation:  Lm
1 Lumen = 1 Candela * steradian.
Flux:  the rate of flow of energy in units of
energy per time = power.

***** Reading *****

Julie Golob
http://www.juliegolob.com/

http://momwithagun.com/2014/02/16/the-choices-we-make/
Excerpt:
"By choosing to learn and practice our situational
awareness and self-defense skills, by choosing to
carry gun or knife or other weapon, by choosing
to be self-reliant and responsible for our own
safety, we are making a foundational choice about
the values by which we live our lives.  That choice,
and those values, will always shape what we do
in our lives."

"Those involved in competition should remember that
the start signal should always be visual rather
than audible.  In the real world, you start because
of what you see, not because of what you hear."
-- Col. Jeff Cooper
http://dvc.org.uk/jeff/jeff4_3.html
Mirrors of Jeff Cooper's commentaries.
http://myweb.cebridge.net/mkeithr/Jeff/
http://www.molonlabe.net/Commentaries/
http://dvc.org.uk/jeff/

***** Politics *****

Yes, the thought police are attacking your children.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FINGER_GUN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-03-04-06-53-55

Cheers,
Jon