Hi Sheepdogs,
“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
Bad behavior, not ethnicity, is the problem! by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/bad-behavior-not-ethnicity-is-the-problem/
***** ***** ***** Software ***** ***** *****
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
----- Mindset -----
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
Words of Wisdom
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/words-of-wisdom
I have read the book that Greg refers to, “In the Name of Self Defense” by Mark MacYoung.
If you're going to use weapons, you'd better be able to handle the stress.
Over reacting or under reacting is tragic.
"I was in fear for my life." does not make the use of lethal force
legal if the 5 principles are not in place. (Innocence, Imminence, Avoidance,
Proportionality, Reasonableness)
If you're going to command crew served weapons, even more so.
"I was following orders." is not an excuse when the order was illegal.
You have to know the difference. Because there are a lot of officers who
fit Greg’s description,
"Most American men haven’t been punched since grade school, if ever.
They’ve never been attacked or been in a street fight. They’ve never
studied a combat sport where punches are thrown. They have exactly ZERO
experience being hit."
They have zero combat experience, and yet they command from behind
their desks.
Ezekiel 33:3-4 - "Then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning
and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head."
FORTUTOUS OUTCOMES - LESSONS LEARNED
https://gabesuarez.com/fortutous-outcomes-lessons-learned
Excerpt:
The guys that are reluctant to kill a bad guy, or who think your life is
now ruined by having to take a life are fools and should never be in Police,
Military, or Security service, and they certainly do not belong in a group
tasked with protecting anyone. [Especially church security teams. -- Jon Low]
CCW: Expect the Unexpected by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/6/19/ccw-expect-the-unexpected/
Excerpt:
. . . We can’t predict when bad things are going to happen and we can’t predict
where they are going to happen. If a person has gone to the trouble to get trained
and obtain a carry license, he should carry that gun whenever and wherever he can
legally do so. It’s just the smart thing to do.
Dating and Your Gun by Carrie Lightfoot
https://thewellarmedwoman.com/concealed-carry/dating-and-your-gun/
This is in the mindset section, because there are many
decisions you will have to make before going on the date.
I once went on a date, where the lady hugged me and said in mock surprise,
"Oh, you're armed too!" I said, yes, where are you carrying? (noticing her
tight dress and diminutive clutch). She just smiled.
Later I discovered her holster between her thighs supported by her garter
belt holding a Walther PPK. Yes, she had twiggy legs and a large thigh gap.
When I mentioned this carry option in a class, one of my students told me that
she could never have made that work for her. Everyone is different.
[I know "clutch" does not appear in most dictionaries. But, if you look in a
scholarly dictionary such as American Heritage, you will see it in the 7th definition.
https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=clutch
]
FIENDE LYSSNAR or, in English, The enemy is listening!
-- Ray Harvey
Learning To Carry; Same Gun, Same Place, Everyday by Kelly Pidgeon of Armed & Feminine
https://thewellarmedwoman.com/concealed-carry/learning-carry-gun-place-everyday/
Excerpt:
That’s where the mindset comes in. You have to get to a point
where you don’t feel right unless you have [your pistol] on you.
Stockpiling Ammunition: A Thorough Approach by Justin
https://swiftsilentdeadly.com/stockpiling-ammunition-a-thorough-approach/
Excerpt:
"Most people assume that things will mostly be good, mostly forever."
". . . realize that bad things happen."
"Riots in the streets or a pandemic are just two far-fetched scenarios I can imagine."
"Remember, as I mentioned before: high-quality isn’t just about the
fancy bullet in the end of that cartridge. It is also about high-quality powder,
primers, waterproofing, quality control, etc."
[When my company issued me a Glock 22, they also issued me 45 rounds of ammo
(Winchester Ranger in 40 cal. S&W) to fill up the three 15-round magazines.
The ammo was old and beat up. So, I bought a box of 50 rounds and shot up the
old ammo. They all functioned fine. But, my confidence is much higher now
with new ammo.
Note that the author, Justin, uses the word "regulated" the way our Founding
Fathers used the word in the 2nd Amendment. "Regulated" does not mean
"to control or direct by a rule, principle, method, etc.", rather it means
"to adjust so as to ensure accuracy of operation"; Random House Dictionary.
The English language, which is definded by common usage (a technical term),
changes with time. So, documents must be read in the context of their time.
To do otherwise, causes misinterpretation.
I keep 1000 rounds of .223 ball ammo (because if you're using it for defense
you'll probably have to punch through barriers, just my experience) for my rifle.
I keep 5000 rounds (because I've shot a 1000 rounds in a 2-day course and often
do 4-day courses) of 45 ACP full metal jacket round nose and 500 rounds of hollow
point for my pistols. I have standardized on these two calibers so I don't have
to stockpile several different calibers of ammo.
I generally ask those that I am teaching to supply their own ammo.
Justin recommends air tight containers for storage. I find gallon size
Zip Lock freezer bags work fine. Hey, if they are good enough for the weed
dealers, they're good enough for me.
-- Jon Low]
The 'magic wand' is INSANE!
A hammer can be an unforgettable magic wand . . .
-- Jay Sankey
[Some people think their pistol is a magic wand. -- Jon Low]
The Three S Test by Dave Spaulding of Handgun Combatives
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/8aa676a5-ff82-4396-bbbc-6f32598aca6c
Excerpt:
Anyone who has ever had to face an armed assailant, whether it’s on the battlefield,
in an arrest situation, or on the street while trying to mind your own business,
will tell you that having confidence in one’s combative skills offers a peace of mind
that cannot be taken for granted.
History has shown us that it’s not necessarily the person with the fastest draw or
the ability to shoot tight groups that will win a gunfight. The person that will
prevail is the one that is more ruthless, has no reservation to take a shot,
will go “toe-to-toe” with an opponent, will not hesitate when the fight starts.
The fact is this is not most people.
Never base a decision on how to deal with an armed opponent by applying your
logic, feelings, or background.
No one teaches something because they think it is stupid, thus it is up to the
student to separate the solid information from the garbage.
1. Is the technique being taught simple to execute or perform?
2. Does it make sense? . . . if the instructor cannot tell you why he teaches
something, that should tell you something!
3. Is it street proven? . . . While Airsoft or Simunitions training is excellent,
it is not a real fight so I don’t rate things seen in such training the same as
actual combat.
Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation
-- John Farnam
----- Safety -----
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
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 fast and/or emphatic reholster is an awesome way to shoot yourself."
-- Chuck Haggard
----- 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.)
Terrorism Prevention for Security Professionals (Free seminar)
Tuesday, July 14, 2020
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CDT
Fellowship Bible Church
1210 Franklin Road
Brentwood, TN 37027
https://mailchi.mp/michaelmannsecurityservices/free-terrorism-prevention-for-security-professionals
Carjacking Defense - July 18 - 9am-1pm - Mount Juliet, TN
https://mailchi.mp/michaelmannsecurityservices/carjacking-defense-workshop
$50 seminar
Winning Habits On the Range by H.Q. Moody
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/6/21/winning-habits-on-the-range/
If you don't have all these resources, ask your coach. If you don't have
a coach, get a coach. You need help with the analysis; nobody can do it by
himself. So, ask your coach for help with the analysis.
Paintball games can lead to training scars, because you are not desperately
seeking cover, because you don't fear getting hit. Similarly for force-on-force
training with Simunitions. Especially so for IPSC and IDPA games. So, you have
to train yourself to aggressively seek cover, to aggressively move to cover.
As John Holschen says, "You win gunfights by not getting shot." In the games,
you win by hitting the enemy, which is entirely different; different mindset,
different tactics.
In the mid 1990's, I was shooting an indoor IDPA match in San Jose, CA.
I had recently been through some training, so I immediately went prone. The Safety
Officer stopped everything and told me that I could not go prone, because they
were afraid of lead on the floor. (And they had never seen anyone go prone in
an IDPA match and the behavior was freaking them out.) Games are to be played
by the rules and conventions. Combat is not.
In foil fencing, attack distance is advance-lunge distance. This is a
convention. You won't find it in the rules. You have to take a training
course for judges to learn this convention (if your coach didn't teach you).
So, the first fencer to start extending his sword arm with point in line,
at or within this distance has the right of way, has the attack, has priority.
Not so in epee, which is a much closer simulation to combat. In epee,
whoever hits first, scores. The machine determines who hit first.
So, you don't really need a judge in epee fencing. Can you see why it is
so difficult to fence both foil and epee in the same tournament? One has
to change one's mindset to accommodate the change in rules and conventions.
Engaging in combat with the rules and conventions of the square range
is bad. As Sara Ahrens says, "Be careful what you practice. Because you
will do in combat whatever you have practiced, no matter how ridiculous."
"Reasons for training:
1. You don't know what you don't know.
2. Much of what you know is wrong.
3. It's good to have some of the answers to the test before taking it."
-- Claude Werner the Tactical Professor
Post Engagement Part II: Calling 9-1-1 by Justin
https://swiftsilentdeadly.com/post-engagement-part-ii-calling-9-1-1/
Of course, you can read Andrew's book,
https://lawofselfdefense.com/product/law-of-self-defense-3rd-edition-softcover/
The first part of this article is at
Post-Engagement, Part I: Search & Assess by Justin
https://swiftsilentdeadly.com/post-engagement-part-i-search-assess/
"The real value of training, though, is that it improves competence,
which leads to a higher level of confidence."
-- Rehn & Daub
Is My Firearms Trainer Wrong?
https://www.thearmorylife.com/is-my-firearms-trainer-wrong/
You should ask your prospective firearms instructor for a copy of his
insurance policy. If he doesn't have insurance, it might mean he can't get
insurance.
You should ask your prospective firearms instructor for his training
record to see his pedigree.
You should ask your prospective firearms instructor who has certified
him as a firearms instructor. An NRA certification is fine, but in general
their standards are low. Only the Advanced Pistol Instructor certification
required advanced private training beyond what the NRA offers, letters from
instructors whom the applicant has taken classes from, and a list of the
applicant's student's contact information to allow the NRA Instructor Staff
to vet the applicant.
Every instructor development course is different. Some have written
tests. Some have shooting tests. Some have you give the class a lecture
to evaluate your presentation skills. Some have you teach another student
to evaluate your teaching skills. Some schools only teach students, and
do not certify instructors. The larger gun schools that have been around
for a while train instructors, because they need instructors in the pipeline
because their instructors retire, resign to start their own schools, or
leave for any number of reasons. Any business will have a certain turn
over of employees.
The products of a gun school are their students who graduate from
the school. The graduates reflect on the school. Even more so, the
graduates that they have certified as instructors. So, when you see someone
shooting competently, ask him where he was trained. If you like an instructor's
style of teaching, ask him where he was trained.
John Farnam prices his classes high, because he is at a stage of life
where he wants to restrict his classes to serious students. Of course,
there are a lot of rich people who are not serious. Who are just looking
for the experience, as a golf resort. You'll find a lot of such people
at Front Sight. My mission is to teach the little old ladies with arthritis
living in small towns or rural communities, where the Sheriff's response time
is 2 hours. So, I don't charge a lot, and I will often supply all of the
equipment. Which is often needed, even if the student has all of their own
equipment. Real training is where the student learns that what he has
does not work. A lot of stuff on the market won't stand up to the abuse
of training, much less combat. You have to decide a lot of things before
you buy eqipment.
"Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
Good Luck Comes With Good Training by SGM Kyle Lamb [Ret.]
https://www.gunsandammo.com/editorial/good-luck-good-training/377532
Excerpt: (paraphrased)
. . . so do everything as fast as you possibly can,
then slow down [your trigger press] and make your shots count.
----- Practice -----
You have to be lucky to win. And the more you practice,
the luckier you get.
-- Col. Lones Wigger (my hero), August 25, 1937 - December 14, 2017
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
"The real value of training and practice isn't gaining technical competence,
it's achieving confidence in your abilities."
-- Claude Werner the Tactical Professor
"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
Scan and Assess by CWO Pat Rogers
http://www.swatvault.com/columns/training-and-tactics/scan-and-assess/
Excerpt:
". . . shoot him to the ground."
[You need to be real careful about this. I know it's taught at police academies
and gun schools. But, shooting the bad guy after he is no longer a threat is
murder. -- Jon Low]
"Remember that practice does not make perfect — it makes permanent."
"Restricting your shooting to that square range means those square range
TTPs [Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures] will be all you know."
The Trigger Finger Magazine Release by Massad Ayoob
https://gunsmagazine.com/discover/the-trigger-finger-magazine-release/
This is why it is so important to have an ambidextrous magazine release,
not just a reversible mag release. And following that logic, that's why it
is so important to have a completely ambidextrous pistol.
Should Concealed-Carry Rookies Appendix Carry? by Jeff Johnston
https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/articles/2020/6/17/should-concealed-carry-rookies-appendix-carry/
"Wheelgun Wednesday: One-Handed Revolver Reload – Revisited" by Doug E
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/06/10/one-handed-revolver-reload/
Previous article cited in the above article,
"Wheelgun Wednesday: One-Handed Revolver Drills" by Doug E
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/10/30/wheelgun-wednesday-one-handed-revolver-drills/
The difficulty of these operations is why I do not recommend revolvers.
But, knowing how to perform these operations is important, because you may
pick up a revolver in combat and the ammunition for the revolver may be on
the dead body lying next to you (Hey, stranger things have happened.).
AK Emergency Reload - Method #5 and #6 with Polenar Tactical!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lep25fb8CgM
This video does not appear to be on Polenar Tactical Media web page,
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5tNKzIsvvqUH-SB0Oc3aYw/videos
I guess it got reposted by AK Operators Union, Local 47-74. But,
Polenar Tactical knows about this post because they posted in the
comments section.
Eric Lawrence taught this technique with pistol decades ago.
Proper Thumb Positions with Massad Ayoob - Master Class Ep. 17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVvUHsFdHK4
Shooting With Both Eyes Open by Kevin Creighton
https://www.ammoman.com/blog/shooting-with-both-eyes-open/
Yes, you need binocular vision. Yes, you need peripheral vision. The
problem is that if you shoot using the non-dominant-eye sight picture, the
right-eyed shooter will impact way off to the left, and the left-eyed shooter
will impact way off to the right. Murphy's Law says that you will be using
the wrong sight picture, because, especially in high stress situations,
anything that can go wrong will go wrong. So, you must eliminate the
possibility of shooting at the wrong image by closing your non-dominant eye
at the moment prior to releasing the shot. In a high stress situation your
eye dominance may change. All kinds of strange things happen under stress.
"High stress" is not an IDPA match where no one is shooting at you. High
stress is when you urinate on yourself, defecate on yourself, vomit, shake
uncontrollably, and maybe faint. Training and practice, especially
visualization, can mitigate these occurences, maybe.
It's nice that people like Mr. Creighton write articles for our
community, but bear in mind his background.
How to Draw a Gun From a Wheelchair by Dr. Joseph Logar, PT, DPT
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/6/13/how-to-draw-a-gun-from-a-wheelchair/
A friend asked me why I teach the squatting position when I know that
most of my American students won't be able to assume it.
After we lost the Vietnam War, a U.S. journalist interviewed a North
Vietnamese Army general (he was a colonel during the war). In the interview,
the general said (in perfect American English) that they could not have won
the war; the Americans were vastly superior. (He knew of the anti-war movement
back in the states, but never mentioned it, because he didn't think it was the
reason.) He said, the Americans had lost the war, because they could not squat.
I don't think the silly American journalist understood what the general
was saying. It was a deep philosophical and cultural statement.
In many cultures, when waiting, you squat. You don't stand. You don't
sit in a chair. When talking to others, you squat. So, everyone's head is at
the same level. You're not talking up or down to anyone. While waiting in
ambush, you squat. Because, it takes too long to move from a prone position.
And because, you are harder to see.
Squatting --
(This is the fastest position to get in and out of, but requires flexibility).
From your bladed standing position, bend your knees to drop straight down.
(Don’t move your feet.) Keep your feet flat on the ground. (Don’t let your
heels come off the ground.) Rest the back of your support side upper arm against
the front of your knee cap, just as in the kneeling position. The upper body and
arms are in the same Chapman modification of the Weaver position as when standing.
Pivot around the ball of your support side foot to adjust your natural point of aim.
3 lessons on decision-making from a poker champion by Liv Boeree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nisSeC81u2M
1. Over estimating your competence, due to success. Our egos love to downplay
the luck factor when we are winning.
2. Quantify your thinking.
"Precision of language is precision of thought." -- Prof. Yerkes, English Dept.
Columbia University
"It's better to be wrong than to be vague." -- Freeman Dyson
"When we speak in numbers, we know what lands in the other person's brain." -- Liv Boeree
So, avoid vague terms in your speech.
3. I have heard many self-defense instructors teach, "trust your gut",
"trust your intuition". Miss Boeree says, don't. Always analyze. Always assume
worst case outcomes.
Her conclusion is priceless. (see the end of the video)
[Oh, yes, any form of combat is a poker game. If you don't believe so, you don't
understand what's going on. Unfortunately, the modern military system of fitness
reports makes it not only possible, but I would say common, for officers to be
promoted without understanding what's going on in the battle space. If you win
the battle, you get a good fitness report; even if your command decisions had
nothing to do with the win, even if your command decisions were detrimental.
(e.g. Gen. George Armstrong Custer) On the other hand, if you lose, as in the
attack on Pearl Harbor Naval Base, you get court martialed; even if you did the
best you could have done with the information you had at the time.
(e.g. Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel)
When the enemy attacked our compound, Jadawel International, on May 12th of 2003,
(actually it started at 23:00 on 11 May 2003, but who am I to argue with the historians)
they shot the Royal Saudi Air Force guard in the tower at the back gate, and placed
a sachel charge on the back gate to breech it. As they drove their truck into our
compound, their truck bomb detonated. We found body parts indicating 7 enemy combatants.
Did they make a mistake and accidentally detonate their bomb prematurely?
Did our electronic warfare devices cause the premature detonation of the bomb?
Was it a command detonated bomb that was detonated at the wrong time by someone
outside the compound? Did one of our guys shoot the enemy combatant holding the release
switch, causing the bomb to detonate? Did it in fact detonate correctly, and
we simply don't understand why that time and place was chosen? We'll never know,
because it's war. You don't get to do a careful analysis before or after the event.
Because you can't get the data. (Ya, I know the FBI sent agents to investigate.
I saw them. What a joke.) So, we award medals, throw a party, and go home.
-- Jon Low]
Former FBI Agent Explains How to Read Body Language | Tradecraft | WIRED
by Joe Navarro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jwUXV4QaTw
The importance of this video is that Special Agent Navarro explains how so much
of commonly accepted "knowledge" is just non-sense.
"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
“Lawful Defense Against Riot, Looting, and Arson.” by Andrew Branca
https://lawofselfdefense.com/after-action-analysis-june-3-2020/
Transcript follows the video, so you don't have to watch the video.
Pro Driver Shows Off Tactical Driving Techniques | Tradecraft | WIRED
by Wyatt Knox
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3cQFsX6gl4
The realistic practical maneuver is driving in reverse at high speed.
All the other stuff is police or Hollywood. This is why torso twisting
stretching exercises are so important. Know your controls. Adjust your
mirrors. If Antifa has set up a road block, it's nice to know how to
get through it. Do you know how to shut off the computer controls of
your brakes, transmission, and fuel pump? Do you know why you might want to?
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
Responsibly Armed Radio Season 1: Episode 1 (inaugural podcast)
https://responsiblyarmedradio.libsyn.com/responsibly-armed-radio-season-1-episode-1
Co-Hosts Judi Wells and Tatiana Whitlock are joined by
Lou Ann Hamblin of LouKa Tactical and Claude Werner, The Tactical Professor.
"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
CCW: Buy the Best Holster You Can Afford by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/6/18/ccw-buy-the-best-holster-you-can-afford/
Excerpt:
When thinking about quality defensive handguns and the rigs that we carry them in,
it is a good idea to keep in mind that the average funeral costs $8,000. What is your
personal safety, and that of your family, worth? Don’t buy cheap!
Freedom.concealed (Instagram account)
https://www.instagram.com/freedom.concealed/
Photo montage of concealed carry in various outfits.
https://www.freedomconcealed.com/
Proof that ladies may carry in stylish clothing.
At least for young slender ladies.
"Tactica IWB Holster Review – A Holster Made for Women" by Jackie from Freedom Concealed
https://www.usacarry.com/tactica-iwb-holster-review/
I don't understand what makes it "for women". Should work for men.
Tactica Defense Fashion Corset Holster Review by Freedom Concealed
https://www.usacarry.com/tactica-defense-fashion-corset-holster-review/
I think guys could use this. It allows carry much higher than
the waist line. And a lot of guys would appreciate the corset holding
their beer belly in.
7 Personal-Defense Handguns Under $300 by David Workman
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/6/13/7-personal-defense-handguns-under-300/
“Your car is not a holster.” – Pat Rogers
Wear it or lock it up.
----- Technical -----
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
Wilson Combat Gunsmithing - Working With The Extractor [Part 1/2]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dorzFGvYj40
Get a Grip (Angle, That Is) by Wendy LaFever
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/6/11/get-a-grip-angle-that-is/
There is nothing wrong with changing the grip angle, circumfrence,
trigger reach, palm swell, etc. with a Dremel tool and auto body putty.
How good it looks when you're finished depends on how much time and
effort you're willing to put into it. Or, you can always have a pro
do it for you.
What's critically important is that the pistol points at the target
when you point the pistol at the target, even when you have dirt or
pepper spray in your eyes. You are never going to have pristine conditions
in combat as you do in the air conditioned square range. (Doesn't everyone
practice in a carpeted air conditioned range in their private club? They
serve hors d'oeuvres and drinks (non-alcoholic) on the range at my sister's
club in Austin, TX. And membership is dirt cheap, compared to what Dad
paid for a memebership at Oahu Country Club in Hawaii.)
Handgun Selections for Women by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/6/12/handgun-selections-for-women/
Excerpt:
When my parents married, my mother did not know how to drive a car.
My father, who did know, chose to have another person teach her.
My father was a smart man.
Inventing the Kydex Holster - Gun Guys Special Ep. 24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tITEfKsBFE
Home Gunsmithing Tips by Dave Anderson
https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/home-gunsmithing-tips/
Another useful tip is to disassemble inside a clear plastic bag.
That way you won't lose all those little pieces that will fly out
under spring pressure. May also prevent that piece from flying
into your eye. But, of course you are wearing glasses, because
this is far more dangerous than shooting. I have zero injuries
from shooting. I have uncountably many injuries from work in the
armory. I was the battalion armorer at 1st Radio Battalion for
a while.
Firearm Condition Readiness:
Condition 0, Condition 1, Condition 2, Condition 3, Condition 4 —
What Do They All Mean? by G. Halek
https://concealednation.org/2015/08/firearm-condition-readiness-condition-0-condition-1-condition-2-condition-3-condition-4-what-do-they-all-mean/
"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
Always shower and floss and brush your teeth before going out in public.
Especially, when going to teach a class. If you're late, you can make an excuse.
But, if you're stinking there is no excuse. It's like neglecting to put on your
clothes.
Always put on clean clothes. If you left your clothes in the washer too
long before tranferring them to the dryer, the smell of mildew will be on them.
(Even if you can't smell it.) Wash them again with bleach. Going out in public
with stinky clothing is unacceptable. Especially so if you are leading a class.
Always have clean equipment. If you give your pistol to a student to check
to make sure it is unloaded, and they pull their finger out of your chamber
covered in black carbon, shame on you.
Always have your class efficiently planned. If your students are waiting
around for you to do something, you are wasting their time. Get your stuff
done while they are on their bathroom breaks or before the class starts.
If some of your students are there before the class starts, you can ask them
to help you set up, but not if they are busy getting their stuff set up.
"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
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
Branca & West: Speaking with the Police (Part 1 of 2) by Attorney Andrew Branca
https://lawofselfdefense.com/branca-west-speaking-with-the-police-part-1-of-2/
Transcript is below the video, so you don't have to watch the video.
SHOULD YOU TALK TO THE POLICE AFTER A SELF-DEFENSE INCIDENT? Part 2
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/33211
Self-defense is intentional. No accident. I was there. I intentionally shot him.
I was justified in shooting him to stop his attack. I am responsible.
I've been arrested a few times. It's just money to have the arrest record expunged.
No big deal. Running your mouth to try to avoid getting arrested is a big deal, and
generally won't work.
Stay at the scene. Fleeing the scene is consciousness of guilt. Be the first to
call the police. Point out witnesses and evidence. Don't give a detailed statement
until you talk to your attorney.
The biggest obstacle for the defense attorney to overcome will be your statements
to police at the scene. So, don't make any.
Don't consent to anything. Don't consent to a search of anything. Your attorney
can fight the search warrant, but he can't fight your stupidity in consenting to a
search.
When Can You Use Lethal Force?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNKw-Hyz1UQ&feature=emb_logo
Strip away the ambiguity. Loud verbal commands. Use your big boy voice. "STOP!"
If he doesn't stop, then he is advancing on you in an aggressive manner after being
commanded to stop, demonstrating malice aforethought.
Generally, you cannot bring the criminal's prior record of violence into evidence
at your trial. But, because you've taken my class, you can state truthfully that your
instructor explained to you that because strong arm robbery is not a beginner crime,
the conditional probability that the assailant has an extensive criminal record given
that he was attacking you is very high. So, you had good reason to believe your
assailant had an extensive criminal history and acted accordingly.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To answer questions concerning an essay in the last blog posting --
No, the prosecutor cannot hold the threat of prosecution over the husband and wife forever.
The defendant has the Constitutional right to a speedy trial.
---
U.S. Constitution, Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial,
by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed,
which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the
nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel
for his defence.
---
So, once the husband and wife were indicted the clock started ticking. The U.S. Supreme
Court has held that a year is "presumptively" (but not absolutely) prejudicial.
Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514 (1972)
So, after an unreasonable period of time the defense can petition the court to dismiss the
charges with prejudice (which means permanently, the charges cannot be brought again)
because the defendant's Constitutional right to a speedy trial has been violated.
There is also a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that held that even if the defense contributed
to the delay, the defense can still claim a violation of this right to a speedy trial.
Andrew Branca cited the case in a class, but I can't remember it off hand.
If the prosecutor had not preferred charges, then ya, there is no statute of limitations
on murder. But, as time goes on, people die, people forget things, evidence gets lost
or degrades, detectives retire and move away, all kinds of things make the prosecution
more difficult. That's why there are statutes of limitation. Because time also makes
the defense more difficult.
---
I speculate that the wife went to the principle's house, shot him to death, and
then called her husband to help clean up the mess. The husband then assumed responsibility
for everything. I suspect that if the prosecutor actually took the case to trial, the
two defense attorneys (one for the wife and one for the husband) would file conflicting
motions, forcing the judge to separate the cases into two separate trials. This would
double the multi-million dollar cost for the state. Even the government does not have
unlimited resources. Apparently, the husband and wife had significant resources.
My father would tell me, "Any problem that can be solved with money is not a real
problem. Just buy your way out. The real problems are those you cannot solve with
money. They require thought and effort."
A friend from college married a Broadway dancer after graduation from medical
school. They divorced soon after. My friend's attorney advised my friend to pay
her off to get rid of her, otherwise she would be a problem forever. So, my friend
gave her a couple million, and that was the end of it. His life has been pleasant
ever since. I lacked the maturity to pay off the ex, instead I fought. The result
has been that I have had to deal with the ex for decades, and she is still asking
our children for money.
Smart people buy their way out, now; to avoid problems later. If you don't
have the resources to buy your way out, buy insurance. Insurance is dirt cheap,
because the probability of good guys ever making a claim is miniscule. And when
claims are made, the attorneys have incentives to get the charges dismissed.
---
I have to decline to answer the other questions. Sorry.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Secret information is nothing. It's what you do with it that matters."
-- Jay Sankey
[Tucker] Carlson Slams Fulton County [Georgia] DA’s Handling of Atlanta Police Shooting —
‘Pressure from the Mob Will Not Stop Police Brutality’
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2020/06/18/carlson-slams-fulton-county-das-handling-of-atlanta-police-shooting-pressure-from-the-mob-will-not-stop-police-brutality/
Any objective observer of the video of the incident would conclude a justified
self-defense use of lethal force (shooting). The suspect resisted arrest for DUI by
fighting with the police. The suspect stole the policeman's Taser (incompetent
weapons retention). The suspect fired the Taser (considered lethal force in Georgia)
at the police officer. So, the police shot the suspect.
Ain't prosecutorial discretion great.
One of the reasons for the American Revolutionary War was taxation without
representation. Tucker Carlson is saying lack of police protection is taxation
without protection. Follow that train of logic to the obvious conclusion.
Self Defense Law as an Algorithm by Andrew Branca
https://lawofselfdefense.com/self-defense-law-as-an-algorithm/
For you computer scientists and computer programmers.
Go to
https://lawofselfdefense.com/elements/
for your free download of the PDF file containing the info graphic of the 5 elements
of self defense law.
In case you haven't noticed, the ChiComs and Indians are fighting. Why?
Water. The ChiComs are redirecting Himilayan rivers to flow into China.
(Using American made D9 bulldozers, manufactured by Caterpillar Inc. Because
the ChiComs can't make a reliable bulldozer?) The Indians may destroy the
ChiComs for us. (I wonder what the ChiComs will do when the Indians boycott
all Chinese goods?)
The People's Liberation Army is not very competent. The Vietnamese drove
deep into China during that little war. (Yes, as a matter of fact, communists
do often go to war with other communists.) Maybe the Vietnamese will destroy
the ChiComs for us. Stranger things have happened. Do you notice all the
things made in Vietnam in U.S. markets? Wiping out a competitor for the U.S.
consumer market would be a prize worth fighting for.
Hat tip to Mark at Practical Eschatology,
https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/
"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 (the one we swore to uphold and defend
against all enemies)
Every law enforcement officer who enforces laws that infringe on the right
to keep and bear arms is violating the oath he swore when becoming a law
enforcement officer.
***** ***** ***** Survival, Medical, Security, and such ***** ***** *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
IFAK Essentials for your Kit by Rex Mamaril
https://www.gunsandtactics.com/ifak-essentials-for-your-kit
Fold and Stage a CAT Tourniquet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSECJQPJmLw
Resistance to Violent Crime: What Does the Research Show? by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/resistance-to-violent-crime-what-does-the-research-show
Excerpt:
". . . based on the research, police departments should not be telling
crime victims to “never resist” their attackers. Resistance is often a
viable and successful strategy."
[More importantly, as Col. Cooper said, resistance is the only honorable
course of action. -- Jon Low]
The Voice of a Hero: Jack Wilson’s Story
https://www.uslawshield.com/voice-of-a-hero-jack-wilson/
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
Gun Glossary: Every Term You Could Possibly Need, In One Spot! by Brandon Curtis
https://concealednation.org/2015/05/gun-glossary-every-term-you-could-possibly-need-in-one-spot/
Republished with permission from The Well Armed Woman, because
The Well Armed Woman had it spread out in 5 separate posts.
"Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
***** ***** ***** Miscellany ***** ***** *****
When it's least expected, you're selected.
-- John Farnam
What Happens When College Students Learn Marksmanship? by Serena Juchnowski
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/6/23/what-happens-when-college-students-learn-marksmanship/
Yes, you should feel the duty to teach others to shoot. If not you, who?
If not now, when?
Freeman John Dyson (December 15, 1923 to February 28, 2020)
May invite your attention to,
Freeman Dyson: Why General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics can't be unified
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcicI_GJGcM
? I have always appreciated Freeman's thoughts.
When the interviewer says, gravity is so much weaker than the other forces,
he is talking non-sense. How does one compare the force generated by a unit
of mass to the force generated by a unit of charge, when mass and charge are
not related? Be careful of idiots. They sound logical, but never are. Freeman
is so patient with the interviewer, as he was with all of us.
Freeman once told me, "It is better to be wrong than to be vague."
That was in the mid 90's, Berkeley, CA, at U.C. Berkeley, I think.
He never believed that "global warming" / "climate change" non-sense. Like all
of us, he could see that it was political and not scientific.
He once told me that he often found his interests to be orthogonal to his skills.
If you are alumnae or alumnus of my classes and reading this blog as continuing
education, I am sorry for my off color sense of humor. Please bear in mind that I
am not an officer and a gentleman. I am a beer guzzling enlisted man. This determines
the kind of parties I attend and the kind of people I associate with.
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
“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
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Sunday, June 14, 2020
CWP, 14 June MMXX Anno Domini
Hi Sheepdogs,
***** ***** ***** Software ***** ***** *****
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
----- Mindset -----
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
Skill Set: Break Contact by Tiger McKee
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/71a98d74-3cfd-43e7-b4d1-4f79de4f09eb
Avoid. Evade. Escape. Win!
Yes, as a matter of fact, escape is a win.
Firearm Training: Live with Your Defensive Firearm by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/6/5/firearm-training-live-with-your-defensive-firearm/
10 Self-Defense Mistakes by Brent Wheat
https://gunsmagazine.com/our-experts/10-self-defense-mistakes/
Excerpt:
In the everlasting (paraphrased) words of the immortal trainer
Louie Awerbuck, “There is no such thing as an advanced gunfight;
there are just the basics applied under higher stress.”
Openrange Defense - Is Awareness Mightier than the Gun? by Marlan Ingram
https://www.openrangesports.com/blogs/blog/openrange-defense-is-awareness-mightier-than-the-g/
3 Questions To Stay Alive by Tiger McKee
https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/3-questions-to-stay-alive/
Do you know the details?
Am I going to contribute to solving the problem?
Is this worth risking my life for?
Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation
-- John Farnam
----- Safety -----
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
When We Play With Guns – But Shouldn’t by Melody Lauer
https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/play-guns-shouldnt/
Friends Don’t Let Friends Open Carry by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/friends-dont-let-friends-open-carry
Excerpt:
If you think your openly carried gun deters crime, you are absolutely delusional.
More at
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/weekend-knowledge-dump-june-12-2020
"The fast and/or emphatic reholster is an awesome way to shoot yourself."
-- Chuck Haggard
----- Training -----
“Often, it’s what you don’t know that kills you!”
-- Carr
"Reasons for training:
1. You don't know what you don't know.
2. Much of what you know is wrong.
3. It's good to have some of the answers to the test before taking it."
-- Claude Werner the Tactical Professor
Image-Based Decisional Skills
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/image-based-decisional-skills
"The real value of training, though, is that it improves competence,
which leads to a higher level of confidence."
-- Rehn & Daub
"Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
----- Practice -----
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
Yes, IDPA and IPSC competitions can leave training scars.
For instance, habituating shooting at center of mass when pieing a corner is wrong.
Optimized Use Of Cover - Tactical Moment #8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyFUXXI67KY&list=PL5vVZcHP8aMKnBO2JQEyLncFvGNzntrvi&index=1
For instance, habituating shooting at center of mass of the torso or A-zone is wrong.
Shot Placement - Tactical Moment #10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbqKS7f5oxs&list=PL5vVZcHP8aMKnBO2JQEyLncFvGNzntrvi&index=3
Especially when you can see that the enemy is wearing body armor.
You have to practice on photo realistic targets showing the enemy at angles and positions
other than front face on.
All of the Tactical Moment videos are at
https://www.youtube.com/user/tacticalmoment
"The real value of training and practice isn't gaining technical competence,
it's achieving confidence in your abilities."
-- Claude Werner the Tactical Professor
Skill Set: Targets by Tiger McKee
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/19555bd6-704c-4fe1-8b0b-00123be02958
Excerpts:
Use negative targets.
Use 3D targets.
[I would also recommend using photo realistic targets. -- Jon Low
John Holschen recommends photo realistic targets showing the enemy at
various angles and positions. See "Shot Placement - Tactical Moment #10" above.]
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
25 Speed Shooting Tips from World Champ Ben Stoeger by Jake
https://www.tierthreetactical.com/25-speed-shooting-tips-from-world-champ-ben-stoeger/
The first video is Stoeger's training video. The second and third videos are
not pertinent.
Many of the things Stoeger talks about are subtle. That's why he keeps asking,
"Does that make sense?" Because, I am sure that for most of his students,
it does not make sense.
When Stoeger talks about relaxing your firing side hand, he is explaining that
relaxed muscles are fast muscles, while tense muscles are slow muscles. A truth I
learned in fencing while on the Columbia Fencing Team in the late 1970's. There are
no secrets. There is nothing new. There are just some things that certain people
are ignorant of. That's why it is so important to get training from experts. They
may have learned from others or they may have discovered these things for themselves.
But either way, they have the knowledge to give you.
"You learn through training and experience."
Watching YouTube.com videos is neither of these. Reading gun forums is neither of these.
"Eat some C's now and then."
This is a matter of attitude. How much error are you willing to tolerate? Remember,
Stoeger is teaching for the game of IPSC, where no one gets hurt.
"Without experimentation, you're never going to figure that stuff out."
This is so true. You have to be willing to fail. As John Farnam says, we are here
to fail magnificently. Only by failing do you learn. Only by pushing beyond the
limits of your envelope do you find out where the boundaries of your envelope are.
"Have a well defined shot process for each shot, depending on distance, target size,
and motion of target." (paraphrase)
"Fast" or "Precise" is not enough.
"The more specific you are, the more specific your assessment can be."
"How fast you transition from one target to the next has nothing to do with
how fast you can shoot multiple targets."
This is counter intuitive. And true.
"When the second shot is out of the gun, then the eyes move."
Follow through is essential.
Stoeger teaches shooting from stable positions as opposed to awkward positions,
because he is not worried about using cover effectively, because he is not worried
about getting shot.
Stoeger teaches moving at full speed, because he knows where he is going and
does not need to listen and observe for new events. Be careful what you take from
this video.
You get things done fast by doing things, other than shooting, fast. The shooting
is not fast, not rushed.
Remember, Stoeger is teaching competitive shooting (known stimulus with a plan),
which is very different from self-defense/combat shooting (unknown stimulus without
a plan).
Grip exercises (in excruciating detail) -- [This is dry practice.]
Gripping your pistol is a static event, not a dynamic event. So, the appropriate
exercises are isometric, not movement (not fast jerks to exercise fast twitch
muscle fibers, not slow flexion to exercise slow twitch muscle fibers).
* Firing side hand only - Establish a high tight grip (web between the thumb and index
finger up tight against the tang, so that the skin is bunched up under the tang; middle finger
up tight against the bottom of the trigger guard; barrel in line with the bones of your
forearm, in line, not just parallel) with trigger finger in the register position.
Without looking at your hand or pistol, squeeze as hard as you can (with only your
middle finger, ring finger, and little finger). Relax. Repeat a few times.
(This is to develop kinesthetic awareness.)
Now watch the pistol in front of you on a desk or on your lap. Try not to move the pistol
at all, while squeezing and relaxing (for gross stability). Repeat a few times.
Now , aim in and squeeze and relax without moving the sights at all. Repeat several times.
Yes, it takes practice. Nothing worth doing is easy. Sorry, that's just how God made the world.
God uses such to separate the self-disciplined from the undisciplined (as the goats from the sheep).
Repeat with support hand only. Just because you're right handed does not mean you're going
to be right handed in combat.
* Two handed grip -
After establishing your correct firing side grip, establish your support side hand grip
(base of the thumbs solidly in contact with each other; index finger up tight against the
bottom of the trigger guard; all fingers together, not spread out; all fingers should be
on the pistol grip, if not, get yourself a proper pistol; thumbs relaxed, touching the pistol,
not overlapping; both wrists are straight, bent wrists will cause a weak grip, bad for weapon
retention, so pointing your support side hand down at 45 degrees is WRONG).
Squeeze with your support side hand while pulling with your support side hand and pushing
with your firing side hand. The push of the firing hand with the pull of the support side
hand will defeat muzzle flip. (Ya, it's just about impossible to do this with an isosceles
position. That's why you should be using the Chapman version of the Weaver position.)
The push of your firing side hand should be coming from the muscles in the front of your chest
that connect your shoulder to your sternum. The pull of the support side hand should be
coming from the bicep of your support side upper arm. Support side elbow should be down,
not sticking out to the side.
Aim in, squeeze hands and relax without moving the sights. Repeat a few times.
With regular disciplined deliberate practice, your hands will become strong and steady
for shooting. Not necessarily the same muscles or coordination that you would use to crush
beer cans. So, if you can't crush a (steel) beer can to impress your friends, it doesn't
say anything about your ability to hold your pistol steady. You can always crush it against
your forehead. You might even develop a pretty scar to show off.
Presentation (because drawing is what you do with crayons) exercises
(because they were mentioned in the last blog post) --
[You have to practice these techniques dry, before attempting them live.]
1 - The Default Presentation
Clear concealment garment (support side hand continues to hold concealment out of the way to prevent
it from fouling the presentation). Establish grip with firing side hand. Clear your holster.
Rotate pistol to point at the enemy with elbow pulled back as far as possible, bottom of grip pressed
against rib cage, slide of pistol away from your body to avoid fouling the slide with your clothes
when firing from this close contact position. (You may have to shoot from the close contact position, so practice doing so.) Establish two handed grip with both forearms still pressed tight against
your torso. (You may have to shoot from the close contact position, so practice doing so.)
Punch your pistol straight out to your line of sight. Aim in, slack out of the trigger.
2 - Firing Hand Only Presentation [Avoid muzzling your support side hand.]
Clear concealment garment. Establish grip. Clear holster. Close contact position. (Your pistol
may be covered by your concealment garment. If so, shoot through it. Don't play silly games.)
Extend your firing side arm to bring your sight to your line of sight (you may have to clear the
concealment garment to do this, keep pistol pointed in correct direction). Aim in, slack out.
3 - Support Hand Only Presentations (in order of preference)
[Avoid muzzling your firing side hand.]
These first two techniques allow for establishing the correct grip before removing the pistol
from the holster.
- Reaching in front to establish correct grip: Twist your support side hand to point your thumb
forward, palm outboard. Reach across your front. Establish grip. Clear holster. Aim in, slack out. (Another reason to use the 3 o'clock position for right handers or 9 o'clock for lefties.)
- Reaching in back to establish correct grip: Reach behind your back. Establish grip. Clear
holster. Aim in, slack out. (Another reason to use the 3 o'clock position for right handers
or 9 o'clock for lefties.)
The next two techniques require more manipulation of the pistol to get the correct grip.
- Reaching in front: Pull pistol up far enough to rotate it in the holster. Establish grip.
Cross draw. Aim in, slack out.
- Reaching in front: Pull pistol out of holster. Trap it between your legs. Establish grip.
Aim in, slack out. (This technique prevents movement.)
The following technique does not establish the correct grip, but allows for a quick shot.
- Reaching in front: Establish up side down grip, using little finger as your trigger finger.
Cross draw. Aim in, slack out. (This technique was demonstrated in a course called
“Semi-Auto Pistol Level 2” at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center. It's faster than the
previous two techniques, because you don't rotate the pistol or your grip. But, the chances
of getting a second shot are slim, because the pistol probably will not cycle correctly.)
[Tom Givens was wise enough to decline to allow me to teach these techniques at Tac Con,
because they are dangerous. Students often point their pistols at others behind them or beside
them. So, be careful!]
4 - Surreptitious Draw
- From your bladed interview stance, with one hand, clear concealment garment. Establish grip.
Clear holster. Extend arm down along your side, concealing your pistol behind your thigh.
(You might want to practice doing something else with your support side arm to draw attention
away from what you're really doing.)
- From a seated position, with one hand, clear concealment garment. Establish grip. Clear holster.
Keep pistol concealed under the table or under a napkin or behind your jacket or down by your knee.
How To Overcome Anticipation To Shoot Better by Matthew Maruster
https://www.concealedcarry.com/training-2/get-on-target-overcoming-anticipation/
Well, of course, the real solution is to learn the surprise trigger break,
practice the surprise break, and thus achieve the surprise break. Because, the
surprise break defeats all autonomic nervous system responses, such as pushing
against the anticipated recoil (also freezing, jerking, flinching, etc.).
The surprise trigger break is not obvious. It is not natural. You have to
have someone who knows, teach it to you. A lot of instructors don't teach it.
Because they don't believe in it or they don't understand it, which is fine;
an instructor should stay in his lane. But, the surprise trigger break is a
fundamental part of the Modern Technique as taught by Jeff Cooper. So, you
really ought to learn it.
Putting 5 rounds into a single ragged hole at 5 yards is an experience
you ought not to miss. The surprise break will allow you to do this.
Rifle Tactical Reloads by Chris Cavallaro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y787tGof4B0
Here's a picture from Chile,
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/06/01/chiles-famae-to-introduce-9x19mm-vulcano-pistol/
Here's a picture from France,
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/05/30/potd-french-army-glock-17/
I couldn't help but notice how they've got their support side index fingers
on the front of the trigger guard. Every gun school that I've attended in the
U.S. has taught not to do that.
I think it is essential to have all fingers of the support side hand
together (no gap between fingers) and up tight against the bottom of the
trigger guard. Such a grip significantly reduces muzzle flip. Allowing
the sights to get on target (or back onto the same target) more quickly
for subsequent shots.
Massad Ayoob’s Concealed Carry Tips and Techniques
Appendix and cross-draw styles get your handgun into action fast!
by Massad Ayoob
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2015/05/massad-ayoobs-appendix-cross-draw-concealed-carry-tips-techniques/#hackathorn-rip
I think the disadvantages of appendix carry or cross draw carry far out weigh
the advantages. So, I don't recommend them.
Fighting Shotgun! The Three Keys To Success! by Mike Seeklander
http://blog.shooting-performance.com/fighting-shotgun-the-three-keys-to-success/
"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
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
The average human reaction time to a KNOWN stimulus is .25 seconds.
Therefore, it takes, on average, .25 to both initiate an action and .25
to initiate stopping an action. The total time for each is properly
termed "response time". -- Lee Weems
I have worked on several legal cases where the GG (good guy) was
prosecuted after shooting someone in the back. Shooting started face
to face, and ended up with back turned, with several shots being fired
in rapid succession. It is why I am a fan of large bore, powerful
handguns for self-defense, and the shooting techniques to handle the
recoil. -- Marty Hayes
In case you didn't follow the reasoning, it takes a long time
to react to an unknown stimulus. And once the stimulus ceases
(which is also an unknown stimulus), it takes a long time to react
to that too. So, in a real combat situation where everyone is
translating and rotating, the wise person would want to shoot the
minimum number of shots (as there is a finite probability that
you will get unintended hits with each shot). So, to minimize
the number of rounds required to stop the attack, it makes sense
to shoot more massive bullets.
DTI videos
https://defense-training.com/videos/
"Fear Induced Stress" is the latest. Lots of good information at
this web site.
Always lots of good stuff at
https://crimeresearch.org/
"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
Lessons Learned, and Then, Re-learned by Tom Givens
https://secureservercdn.net/166.62.115.254/d74.722.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/June-2020-Newsletter.pdf
Pistols can fail. Ammunition can fail. Be prepared to deal with it.
Yes, you have to zero your pistol. Every human is different.
So, your grip is unique to you. So, your recoil is unique to you.
So, your point of impact relative to your point of aim will be unique
to you. So, you have to zero your sights!
(Of course, you can't zero your sights until you are shooting tight groups.)
If the point of impact is low, file down your front sight.
If your point of impact is high, install a taller front sight and
then file down to make fine adjustments.
If the POI is to the right of the point of aim, push the rear sight to
the left or the front sight to the right. You should use the proper tool;
a hammer and punch are not the proper tools.
If your POI is to the left of your POA, move your rear sight to the right
or your front sight to the left.
No, adjustable sight are not the answer. They are fragile and will
will lose your zero if bumped. Use your red dot sight to rack your slide
a few times and see how far your point of impact has moved. Drop it on
the ground a few times and see if it even lights up anymore.
"Oh, I would never allow that to happen to my sight."
Maybe not, but your enemy will.
"Concealed-Carry Safety . . . In the Bathroom" by Brad Fitzpatrick
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/5/27/concealed-carry-safetyin-the-bathroom/
This article, posted on the NRA Family web site, is completely wrong
and stupid.
When going to the bathroom, keep your pistol in its holster.
Removing the pistol to put it anywhere is wrong! As John Farnam says,
unnecessary gun handling is the primary cause of negligent discharges.
Chaos!
https://defense-training.com/archives/4942
Don’t assume new, factory guns will run, no matter who made them!
-- John Farnam
I'm presently working armed security in a hospital. The charge nurse was
kind enough to allow me to use one of the endoscopes to examine the bores of
my pistols. This endoscope was as a microscope that you could insert into very
small spaces and had its own light of many frequencies that the user could control
and change at will. Much more sophisticated than any bore scope that I had ever
used. I have renewed respect for Glock pistols. The machining and finish on the
bore of modern Glock pistols is simply fantastic. They are so smooth and hard
that cleaning is easy. I was viewing the bore of a used Glock 22 (40 S&W) that
had at least a thousand rounds through it. To the limits of magnification of
this endoscope, it had no surface imperfections. I was amazed. All of my other
pistols showed pitting to varying degrees.
You have to test fire your ammo to make sure it functions reliably in
your pistol! I bought a box of hollow point ammo from Alpine in Mt. Juliet, TN.
When I racked the slide of my Ruger American, it fed and chambered every time.
But, when firing the pistol the cartridges would often get stuck with the front
of the flat hollow point against the bottom edge of the feed ramp.
The ammo functioned flawlessly with my other pistols.
You have to test THE ammo with THE pistol that you intend to use!
5 Value Packed Production Pistols by Chris Christian
https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2020/5/24/5-value-packed-production-pistols/
Attempting to gently release a hammer with a live round in the chamber,
so that you can carry a DA (double action) pistol with the hammer down, or a
single action pistol with the hammer down, is an act of criminal stupidity.
If the DA pistol does not have a decocking lever, it is not designed
to be carried with a round in the chamber and hammer down. So, don't attempt
to defeat the design of the pistol.
The model 1911 type pistol is designed to be carried with a round in the
chamber, hammer at full cock, safety on (up).
Never attempt to gently release the hammer on either of these pistols.
If the safety officer, at the match you are competing in, instructs you
to put the hammer down, because you have to start with the hammer down,
tell him that you have to unload and change to a real pistol.
Hearing loss is permanent and cumulative.
7 Movements That Give Away Your Concealed Carry Advantage (And How To Fix Them) by Matthew Maruster
https://www.concealedcarry.com/gear/7-movements-that-give-away-your-concealed-carry-advantage-and-how-to-fix-them/
Well, of course, the better solution to exposing your pistol is to
wear an inside the waistband holster.
Well, a better solution to printing when bending forward is to bend
at the knees (the way you're supposed to), instead of bending at the waist.
Bending at the knees with your back straight is sexy and elegant. Bending
at the waist is only acceptable as a forward fold in a yoga class.
Well, the real solution to the unnatural squat is, don't appendix carry.
Hey keeping my shirt straight is part of my CDO, which is the same as
OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), but the letters are in alphabetical
order, the way they're supposed to be.
Hey, if your pants are falling down, wear suspenders.
Shaking hands is even worse than hugging. Jeff Cooper says allowing
someone to control your gun hand may be fatal. We, fencers, always shake
with our non-sword hand.
Thigh holster review
https://www.facebook.com/100000221147820/posts/3436593876357950/?d=n&__s=bstdtgtrj2mkrjt2e0gr
To buy one from the Well Armed Women ~$70
https://thewellarmedwoman.com/product/concealed-carry-thigh-holster-compression-shorts/
How Women’s Clothing Impacts Holster and Gun Choice by Taylor Thorne
https://www.guns.com/news/2020/05/28/how-womens-clothing-impacts-holster-and-gun-choice
Concealed Carry Corner: Carrying While Paddling by Doug E.
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/05/28/carrying-while-paddling/
5 Best Places to Buy Gun Magazines Online [2020] by Allison Goodwin
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-places-buy-gun-magazines-online/
10 Best Online Gun Stores [2020]: New & Used by Eric Hung
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-place-buy-guns-online/
5 Best Places to Buy Ammo Online [2020] by Eric Hung
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-places-to-buy-ammo-online/
Ambidextrous pistols: (updated list)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following are truly ambidextrous --
The latest FN pistols are ambidextrous, but they are expensive, FN 509
retails for around $900. They're good out of the box, but the grip
doesn't fit my hand.
The latest Heckler & Koch pistols are ambidextrous. They have the magazine
release lever, as opposed to the button. The VP9 retails for around $600.00.
It's good out of the box and the grip fits my hand nicely.
The Ruger American pistols are ambidextrous. They retail for
around $500. But, they take a bit of gunsmithing to make them reliable.
For me it was worth it because the grip fit my hand and the angle of the grip fit my wrist.
The Honor Defense, Honor Guard pistols are ambidextrous.
They retail for around $300. I've never groped one, so I can't say anything.
The MASADA from IWI US, the U.S. based arm of Israel Weapon Industries (IWI)
is ambidextrous. MSRP $480. I've never groped one, so I can't say anything.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following has an ambidextrous magazine release, but not ambidextrous slide lock --
Since in combat, you will only need the slide lock to clear a type III malfunction
(failure to extract, a rare occurrence), this is not that big a deal.
The Springfield Armory XD type pistols have ambidextrous magazine releases.
You can press it from either side to release the magazine. But the slide
lock is only on the left hand side of the pistol.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following have ambidextrous slide locks, but not magazine releases --
Since in combat, you will need the magazine release to reload, this is a big deal.
The latest Glocks have ambidextrous slide locks. But their magazine release
is reversible, which means you can make it right handed or left handed. That's not
the same as ambidextrous.
SIG Sauer P320 (military version is called M18) has ambidextrous slide locks.
The M-18 also has ambidextrous thumb safeties (but self-defense pistols should
not have thumb safeties, the military having them is bureaucratic stupidity).
The magazine release may be set up as left or right handed, but is not abmidextrous.
Similarly for the P365.
The latest Walthers have ambidextrous slide locks. But their magazine
release is reversible, not ambidextrous.
The S&W M&P's have a slide lock on both sides and a reversible mag release.
The Remington RP45 has a slide lock on both sides and a reversible mag release.
But, there are no instructions in the manual for reversing the mag release. My
aunt told me, if you don't have any nice to say, don't say anything. So, I'm not
going to say that this pistol is a piece of shit. (Hey look, I'm Kamala Harris.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Magnetic Waistband Leather Holster Black or Brown
https://thewellarmedwoman.com/product/magnetic-waistband-leather-holster-cross-draw-in-black-or-brown/
A neat idea, though I have never groped one.
MASADA™ – 9mm Parabellum
https://iwi.us/product/m9orp17/
Interesting description, though I've never groped one.
“Your car is not a holster.” – Pat Rogers
Wear it or lock it up.
----- Technical -----
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
Fundamentals of Shooting Through Glass by Dr. James Tindall
https://www.drtindall.com/2017/06/13/fundamentals-of-shooting-through-glass/
When I first learned to shoot through front windshields of cars,
I found the deflection of the bullet being opposite to the slope of the glass
to be counter-intuitive. The thing to understand is that glass does not
react the same way as armor plate, on a tank for instance.
"Don't memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Prof. Norman Christ, Physics Department, Columbia University, New York, NY
I loved Ankara, Turkey. Little kids went to the stores in the middle
of the night to pick up groceries for their families without the slightest
fear of criminal activity. Turks have no concept of repeat offenders,
because they don't have repeat offenders. The many Rotary Clubs I visited
were welcoming and friendly.
Shooting Through Glass by Bev Fitchett
https://www.bevfitchett.us/sniper-training-2/shooting-through-glass.html
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Some metal detectors are based on the metal being a conductor. So, you
can induce a current flow in the metal, which generates a magnetic field,
which can be detected. Some metal detectors are based on the metal being
ferro-magnetic (not that it has a magnetic field, but only that a ferro-
magnetic field can be induced in the metal). The problem is that many
metals are not magnetic. [Iron is ferro-magnetic. Cobalt and Nickle are
para-magnetic. Other metals, even metallic Hydrogen, are not magnetic.
If it's not a metal, it's a ceramic. All ceramics are not magnetic.]
Even several forms of steel (an alloy of Iron) are not magnetic.
There are a whole class of stainless steels, know as Mu metals, in which
no magnetic field exists and cannot be induced. I got to play with many
of these metals at my last job (and many decades ago when I worked at the
National Bureau of Standards, as Mu metals are used in the manufacture
of mass spectrometers). So, anti-gunners whining about undetectable
plastic guns were spouting propaganda. There have always been guns that
could not be detected by metal detectors.
3 Things To Know About Wheelchair CCW by Dr. Joseph Logar, PT, DPT
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/6/3/3-things-to-know-about-wheelchair-ccw/
"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
"Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning"
by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel
ISBN-10: 0674729013
ISBN-13: 978-0674729018
"Many common study habits and practice routines turn out to be counterproductive.
Underlining and highlighting, rereading, cramming, and single-minded repetition of new
skills create the illusion of mastery, but gains fade quickly. More complex and durable
learning come from self-testing, introducing certain difficulties in practice, waiting
to re-study new material until a little forgetting has set in, and interleaving the
practice of one skill or topic with another."
Hat tip to Lt. Cmd. Buchholz for recommending this book. I had the honor of
saluting her only once, at her commissioning ceremony.
If you're an instructor, it's really important that you read this book.
Because you don't know what you don't know.
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
SHOULD YOU TALK TO THE POLICE AFTER A SELF-DEFENSE INCIDENT?
by Don West and Andrew Branca
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/33171
After a lethal force encounter (which I expect you to win) --
Call 911, tell them your name, location, ask them to send the police and
an ambulance, and tell them that you acted in self-defense.
And then, STOP TALKING!
When interacting with the responding officers, point out witnesses and
evidence. And then invoke your right to counsel before saying anything.
And then KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! No matter how strong the urge to talk, DON'T!
If you think you can talk your way out of getting arrested, your priorities
are completely screwed up.
When interacting with the investigating detectives, don't talk to the
detectives before consulting with your attorney. Don't talk to the detectives
without your attorney present. If you think that you are smarter than the
cops and that you can handle the situation without your attorney, you are
criminally stupid. (Ask Michael Drejka. Responding officers declined to arrest.
Sheriff declined to press charges. End of story, NOT! Drejka goes to
talk to the police without an attorney present for several hours. The recorded
interview is used as evidence at trial to convict him of manslaughter.)
And then KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! Don't talk to the press.
Don't talk to friends or relatives about the incident. Don't talk to
strangers about the incident.
The Womack Shooting Part 1: Walk Away From the Fight
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/33159
Excerpt:
"Depending on where you live, you may or may not have a legal duty to retreat,
but as a concealed carrier, you may, in many cases have a moral duty to retreat,
and if you abide by that moral duty, should you ever find yourself in a self-defense
shooting, the odds that you’ll be found justified go way up."
The Womack Shooting Part 2: Verbal Threats and Reasonable Fear by SHAWN VINCENT
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/33181
My father would tell me, you can always walk away. Well, most of the
time you can. But, you better be prepared for those rare occasions when
you can't.
Oklahoma Takes Preemptive Action, Bans Red Flag Laws by Mark Chesnut
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2020/05/oklahoma-bans-red-flag-laws/
Over 2 million new gun owners reported in first half of 2020 by Stephanie Pagones
https://www.yahoo.com/news/over-2m-gun-owners-reported-212221778.html
At the 2017 Tactical Conference, Marty Hayes and Masad Ayoob gave
the class "The Firearms Instructor as Expert Witness", where they
encouraged us, firearms instructors to participate in the judicial system
by testifying as expert witnesses. So, I continued by training and
education, and let my attorney and private investigator friends know that
I was available cheap, because I had no experience. In fact, I was
willing to work free of charge to gain experience, especially in pro bono
cases.
Sometimes, especially in high profile cases where the defendant
is indigent (or nearly so), the judge will feel that the public defender
will not be able to handle the case properly. So, the judge will "force"
a more competent/experienced/expensive attorney to take the case.
The judge may pay the defense attorney the public defender wage or
"demand" that the attorney take the case pro bono. (My father got
stuck with some of these cases in Hawaii. Because his reputation was
on the line, he would put up the money for expert witnesses, private
investigators, and other attorneys to help with the cases. Big expense.)
If the case is easy, the attorney won't need help. So, if you
get called, you can bet the case is messy, ambiguous, and the defendants
have done all kinds of stupid things. (People with legal self-defense
training don't get into these bad situations in the first place. Hint,
hint.)
Facts, as I saw them (and I am very biased):
[Some of the facts stated below have been altered to make identifying the
case or the persons difficult. Or, you may consider this a fictional
story that I am telling you for your entertainment.]
Principle (male) of small town school allegedly molests an 11 year old male
student. The parents (husband and wife) of the student do not file a police report,
because the mother is a criminal defense attorney and knows the trauma that
the judicial system will put her son through. I get it, having worked as a
volunteer CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for children in the
Wilson County, Tennessee court system.
Husband and wife go to principle's house to confront him (bad move).
They have all been friends for many years. Both husband and wife are armed.
Wife has extensive training and practices regularly. Husband got the
permit, but no further training and never practices. My impression was
that the wife was a highly trained operator [She never showed any emotion.]
and the husband was a dolt.
Husband shoots and kills the Principle. They both invoke their right to
remain silent and have counsel present during any questioning (smart move).
No arrests at the scene. Because who knows, it could have been self-defense.
No flight risk, pillars of the community, deep roots in the community, etc.
Sheriff tells husband and wife not to leave the Sheriff's jurisdiction,
the county.
A week after the incident, two police detectives show up at the husband's
office to ask him a few questions to "clear up some loose ends". Because,
apparently some other mother had filed a complaint against the principle
for molesting her male child. So, the police had an ongoing investigation
and claimed jurisdiction, even though their suspect was dead.
The husband is also an attorney, estates and financial planning.
Husband thinks he is smarter than the "country bumpkin" detectives,
since he is a highly educated city attorney. So, the husband goes to the
police station without counsel to talk to the police (criminal stupidity).
The indictment was first degree murder for the husband and the wife
(all kinds of lesser included offenses, accessory before the fact,
accessory after the fact, etc. because I think they knew the wife was
the brains and the husband was just the muscle.)
Defense counsel wanted me to testify that husband's lack of training
caused him to over react, as opposed to any malice causing the over reaction.
And that the over reaction was still reasonable in the totality of the
circumstances. And that the gun handling that the husband performed was
in keeping with best practices as taught by the NRA and the gun schools
that I had attended. Note that I would have been testifying about what
the husband said he did.
Fortunately, the case never went to trial, I suspected because the
investigation indicated that the principle was in fact a serial pedophile
who had been using his position as principle to prey upon children in his
school. The District Attorney, who had jurisdiction, declined to proceed
with the case (which is not the same as dropping all charges).
[The District Attorney is a political position. Consider the optics.
Could they find jurors that didn't think that the husband and wife did a
great community service and should be praised for their action?
What got Amy Klobuchar dropped from Joe Biden's list of Vice Presidential
choices? Her record as a prosecutor. Her decision not to prosecute
Officer Derek Chauvin in a previous OIS (officer involved shooting).
Ain't prosecutorial discretion a wonderful thing?]
P.S. I later found out that the wife had actually done field operations
while serving in the Israeli Defense Force, as opposed to serving tea to
the officers.
P.P.S. I later found out that defense counsel had hired a jury consultant.
The jury consultant never commented on the jury. It never got that far.
The jury consultant wrote a report on the defendants, concluding that it
would be effectively impossible to convict them (at least the wife anyway).
This report had nothing to do with the evidence or the legal strategies.
The report was based on the wife's physical appearance, posture, lack of
wearing make up, conservative dress, mannerisms, facial expressions, demeanor,
etc. Remember, 90% of communication is non-verbal. It's all body language.
The wife was never going to testify. The psychological details of this
report were deep. "So, what?" you might think. The report wasn't written
for the defense. The report was written for the prosecution. But, information
warfare dictates that how the enemy receives the information determines the
credibility of the information. So, the report was leaked to the prosecutor's
office by a deputy prosecutor who was sleeping with a person in the jury
consultant's firm.
If I were an imaginative novel writer, I couldn't make this stuff up.
"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 (the one we swore to uphold and defend
against all enemies)
***** ***** ***** Survival, Medical, Security, and such ***** ***** *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
Feedback on the HAC 8 Hour Course (author not identified)
https://civiliandefender.com/2020/06/02/feedback-on-the-hac-8-hour-course/
Image Based Decision Drills cited in the article might refer to the item
described in the "Image-Based Decisional Skills" article above in the
Training section of this blog posting.
The Psychology of Deterring Attackers–Part I
An Interview with Dr. William Aprill by Gila Hayes
https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/the-psychology-of-deterring-attackers-part-i
Excerpt:
"Although we are not a very impressive animal, one of the reasons that we
rule the planet is because we are good at a very rarified set of skills that
are incredibly useful: behavior prediction and threat detection."
Off-Road Racer BJ Baldwin Describes Intense Fatal Shootout
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2020/05/off-road-racer-bj-baldwin-shootout/
https://www.facebook.com/22561081832/videos/237925704323250
Excerpt:
"I had a gun, a permit, and training."
The race car driver boyfriend shoots the bad guys.
The professional shooter girlfriend does not shoot.
Threat Journal
https://threatjournal.com/archive/tj06062020.html
Willingness is a state of mind. Preparedness (or lack thereof) is a fact.
***** ***** ***** Basics ***** ***** *****
"Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
Don’t Do These Things with Your 1911!
https://www.thearmorylife.com/dont-do-these-things-with-your-1911/
Protective Gear for the Range by Jay Grazio
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/5/31/protective-gear-for-the-range/
What to Know About Handgun Sights by Mark Dye
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/5/25/what-to-know-about-handgun-sights/
Excerpt:
". . . a bit of experimentation is always necessary to find what actually works for you."
If you've done any work in graphic arts or advertising, you know that
you can make your lettering easier to read with high contrast. If you
have to put your lettering over a changing background, one way to ensure
the lettering remains visible is to have high contrast between the outline
of the letters and the body of the letters. This is exactly what Mr. Dye
is recommending when he says to put a white stripe down the center of your
black front sight post.
Video: How to Clean Your Gun by NRA Staff
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/5/17/video-how-to-clean-your-gun/
That bit about "run a patch down the bore before shooting" is really
important. Oil (actually just about any liquid you are likely to put in
your bore) is incompressible. And it generally does not get squeegeed out
the muzzle when the bullet is driven down the bore by burning propellant.
[You might want to take a fluid physics course to understand exactly why.]
The bullet has enough force to run over the oil. The oil doesn't compress.
So, what happens is that you get dents in your bore. I've seen such with
a bore scope in rifles and 155mm Howitzers. So, please take this seriously.
4 Ways to Choose Your First Concealed-Carry Gun by Brad Fitzpatrick
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/5/19/4-ways-to-choose-your-first-concealed-carry-gun/
Wise advise, not recommendations of products.
***** ***** ***** Miscellany ***** ***** *****
When it's least expected, you're selected.
-- John Farnam
Quips
https://defense-training.com/quips
Lots of good stuff worth reading.
I work the security night shift at a high rise office building in downtown
Nashville, TN. The parking structure is 6 floors of smooth non-slip clean
concrete. During the pandemic, the parking structure has been completely empty.
Skateboard heaven!
At the ski slopes you have to buy a lift pass. At my office building,
it's free elevator rides. Heaven on Earth!
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
Limatunes' Range Diaries
https://limatunesrangediaries.wordpress.com/
Insightful, but be prepared, some of the essays are raw and heartbreaking.
Such as "The First Step In Defense Against Rape".
Melody writes that her new web site is at
MelodyLauer.com
but the URL (Uniform Resource Locator, web address) doesn't seem to work.
“Peace Officers” vs. “Law Enforcement Officers”
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/peace-officers-vs-law-enforcement-officers
Greg, thank you very much for writing this.
A young (LCpl. USMC) colleague at work told me of his unit. They let their
hair grow long, grow beards, learn the local language and customs to blend in.
(Middle East, South West Asia)
I asked him how well it worked. He said not too well. I told him that they had
to live with the natives for at least a year. They had to eat the local food,
so they smelled like the natives. Eating with someone, sharing food with someone
is very important. You can't be going back to base every night to eat at the
mess hall. You have to learn to enjoy eating the local food.
If you're not living with the locals, you won't understand what they are talking
about. He told me the deployments were not that long and they had to return to
base on a regular basis to resupply, deliver intel, and such. He asked me how
long we would stay in the field. I told him two to three years at a time.
He asked me how I could go so long without taking a bath. I told him the
North Koreans used dogs. The dogs can identify non-North Koreans by smell.
You eat American food and shower with American soap, the dogs will tear you apart.
Maybe it's different now days. Maybe they've eaten all their dogs. He told
me he couldn't be gone that long. He has a wife. She wouldn't wait that long.
I told him I had lost many relationships because of absence. He told me about
how the present Commandant is changing the Marine Corps; getting rid of the tanks,
reducing the attack helicopter units, eliminating two infantry regiments, . . .
Things change. But, some things never do.
The recent riots and looting have caused us to start carrying pistols at
the facilities we guard. We used to carry Tasers. We've started locking all
the doors and staying inside, instead of doing foot patrols around the perimeters
and parking lots. Roving gangs have been setting fires. The rioters set the
Graingers across the street from the building I work in on fire. The rioters
set the court house on fire. Some of our guys were trapped inside fighting the
fire before the Nashville Fire Department showed up. The cops had to make the
area safe for the firemen. Ya, I've started wearing body armor again.
"Seven Things You Don’t Know About Body Armor"
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/seven-things-you-dont-know-about-body-armor
Excerpt:
. . . You won’t be able to fire that ammo or eat all that stored food if you get
shot and die because you didn’t have body armor.
[Hat tip to the Tactical Prof.]
Greg is right about you having to practice with long gun and pistol. You
might not be able to assume your isosceles position with your armor on. You might
find your butt stock sliding off your shoulder. Got to practice and figure these
things out before combat.
Greg says body armor is hot. Damn right. You better have at least three
of the cloth carriers that hold the soft armor. One is in the wash, one is
on your body, and one is hanging in your closet. Same with boots, one pair is
on your feet, one is at home drying out.
/* Random data from the HotBits radioactive random number generator */
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
***** ***** ***** Software ***** ***** *****
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
----- Mindset -----
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
Skill Set: Break Contact by Tiger McKee
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/71a98d74-3cfd-43e7-b4d1-4f79de4f09eb
Avoid. Evade. Escape. Win!
Yes, as a matter of fact, escape is a win.
Firearm Training: Live with Your Defensive Firearm by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/6/5/firearm-training-live-with-your-defensive-firearm/
10 Self-Defense Mistakes by Brent Wheat
https://gunsmagazine.com/our-experts/10-self-defense-mistakes/
Excerpt:
In the everlasting (paraphrased) words of the immortal trainer
Louie Awerbuck, “There is no such thing as an advanced gunfight;
there are just the basics applied under higher stress.”
Openrange Defense - Is Awareness Mightier than the Gun? by Marlan Ingram
https://www.openrangesports.com/blogs/blog/openrange-defense-is-awareness-mightier-than-the-g/
3 Questions To Stay Alive by Tiger McKee
https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/3-questions-to-stay-alive/
Do you know the details?
Am I going to contribute to solving the problem?
Is this worth risking my life for?
Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation
-- John Farnam
----- Safety -----
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
When We Play With Guns – But Shouldn’t by Melody Lauer
https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/play-guns-shouldnt/
Friends Don’t Let Friends Open Carry by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/friends-dont-let-friends-open-carry
Excerpt:
If you think your openly carried gun deters crime, you are absolutely delusional.
More at
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/weekend-knowledge-dump-june-12-2020
"The fast and/or emphatic reholster is an awesome way to shoot yourself."
-- Chuck Haggard
----- Training -----
“Often, it’s what you don’t know that kills you!”
-- Carr
"Reasons for training:
1. You don't know what you don't know.
2. Much of what you know is wrong.
3. It's good to have some of the answers to the test before taking it."
-- Claude Werner the Tactical Professor
Image-Based Decisional Skills
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/image-based-decisional-skills
"The real value of training, though, is that it improves competence,
which leads to a higher level of confidence."
-- Rehn & Daub
"Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
----- Practice -----
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
Yes, IDPA and IPSC competitions can leave training scars.
For instance, habituating shooting at center of mass when pieing a corner is wrong.
Optimized Use Of Cover - Tactical Moment #8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyFUXXI67KY&list=PL5vVZcHP8aMKnBO2JQEyLncFvGNzntrvi&index=1
For instance, habituating shooting at center of mass of the torso or A-zone is wrong.
Shot Placement - Tactical Moment #10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbqKS7f5oxs&list=PL5vVZcHP8aMKnBO2JQEyLncFvGNzntrvi&index=3
Especially when you can see that the enemy is wearing body armor.
You have to practice on photo realistic targets showing the enemy at angles and positions
other than front face on.
All of the Tactical Moment videos are at
https://www.youtube.com/user/tacticalmoment
"The real value of training and practice isn't gaining technical competence,
it's achieving confidence in your abilities."
-- Claude Werner the Tactical Professor
Skill Set: Targets by Tiger McKee
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/19555bd6-704c-4fe1-8b0b-00123be02958
Excerpts:
Use negative targets.
Use 3D targets.
[I would also recommend using photo realistic targets. -- Jon Low
John Holschen recommends photo realistic targets showing the enemy at
various angles and positions. See "Shot Placement - Tactical Moment #10" above.]
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
25 Speed Shooting Tips from World Champ Ben Stoeger by Jake
https://www.tierthreetactical.com/25-speed-shooting-tips-from-world-champ-ben-stoeger/
The first video is Stoeger's training video. The second and third videos are
not pertinent.
Many of the things Stoeger talks about are subtle. That's why he keeps asking,
"Does that make sense?" Because, I am sure that for most of his students,
it does not make sense.
When Stoeger talks about relaxing your firing side hand, he is explaining that
relaxed muscles are fast muscles, while tense muscles are slow muscles. A truth I
learned in fencing while on the Columbia Fencing Team in the late 1970's. There are
no secrets. There is nothing new. There are just some things that certain people
are ignorant of. That's why it is so important to get training from experts. They
may have learned from others or they may have discovered these things for themselves.
But either way, they have the knowledge to give you.
"You learn through training and experience."
Watching YouTube.com videos is neither of these. Reading gun forums is neither of these.
"Eat some C's now and then."
This is a matter of attitude. How much error are you willing to tolerate? Remember,
Stoeger is teaching for the game of IPSC, where no one gets hurt.
"Without experimentation, you're never going to figure that stuff out."
This is so true. You have to be willing to fail. As John Farnam says, we are here
to fail magnificently. Only by failing do you learn. Only by pushing beyond the
limits of your envelope do you find out where the boundaries of your envelope are.
"Have a well defined shot process for each shot, depending on distance, target size,
and motion of target." (paraphrase)
"Fast" or "Precise" is not enough.
"The more specific you are, the more specific your assessment can be."
"How fast you transition from one target to the next has nothing to do with
how fast you can shoot multiple targets."
This is counter intuitive. And true.
"When the second shot is out of the gun, then the eyes move."
Follow through is essential.
Stoeger teaches shooting from stable positions as opposed to awkward positions,
because he is not worried about using cover effectively, because he is not worried
about getting shot.
Stoeger teaches moving at full speed, because he knows where he is going and
does not need to listen and observe for new events. Be careful what you take from
this video.
You get things done fast by doing things, other than shooting, fast. The shooting
is not fast, not rushed.
Remember, Stoeger is teaching competitive shooting (known stimulus with a plan),
which is very different from self-defense/combat shooting (unknown stimulus without
a plan).
Grip exercises (in excruciating detail) -- [This is dry practice.]
Gripping your pistol is a static event, not a dynamic event. So, the appropriate
exercises are isometric, not movement (not fast jerks to exercise fast twitch
muscle fibers, not slow flexion to exercise slow twitch muscle fibers).
* Firing side hand only - Establish a high tight grip (web between the thumb and index
finger up tight against the tang, so that the skin is bunched up under the tang; middle finger
up tight against the bottom of the trigger guard; barrel in line with the bones of your
forearm, in line, not just parallel) with trigger finger in the register position.
Without looking at your hand or pistol, squeeze as hard as you can (with only your
middle finger, ring finger, and little finger). Relax. Repeat a few times.
(This is to develop kinesthetic awareness.)
Now watch the pistol in front of you on a desk or on your lap. Try not to move the pistol
at all, while squeezing and relaxing (for gross stability). Repeat a few times.
Now , aim in and squeeze and relax without moving the sights at all. Repeat several times.
Yes, it takes practice. Nothing worth doing is easy. Sorry, that's just how God made the world.
God uses such to separate the self-disciplined from the undisciplined (as the goats from the sheep).
Repeat with support hand only. Just because you're right handed does not mean you're going
to be right handed in combat.
* Two handed grip -
After establishing your correct firing side grip, establish your support side hand grip
(base of the thumbs solidly in contact with each other; index finger up tight against the
bottom of the trigger guard; all fingers together, not spread out; all fingers should be
on the pistol grip, if not, get yourself a proper pistol; thumbs relaxed, touching the pistol,
not overlapping; both wrists are straight, bent wrists will cause a weak grip, bad for weapon
retention, so pointing your support side hand down at 45 degrees is WRONG).
Squeeze with your support side hand while pulling with your support side hand and pushing
with your firing side hand. The push of the firing hand with the pull of the support side
hand will defeat muzzle flip. (Ya, it's just about impossible to do this with an isosceles
position. That's why you should be using the Chapman version of the Weaver position.)
The push of your firing side hand should be coming from the muscles in the front of your chest
that connect your shoulder to your sternum. The pull of the support side hand should be
coming from the bicep of your support side upper arm. Support side elbow should be down,
not sticking out to the side.
Aim in, squeeze hands and relax without moving the sights. Repeat a few times.
With regular disciplined deliberate practice, your hands will become strong and steady
for shooting. Not necessarily the same muscles or coordination that you would use to crush
beer cans. So, if you can't crush a (steel) beer can to impress your friends, it doesn't
say anything about your ability to hold your pistol steady. You can always crush it against
your forehead. You might even develop a pretty scar to show off.
Presentation (because drawing is what you do with crayons) exercises
(because they were mentioned in the last blog post) --
[You have to practice these techniques dry, before attempting them live.]
1 - The Default Presentation
Clear concealment garment (support side hand continues to hold concealment out of the way to prevent
it from fouling the presentation). Establish grip with firing side hand. Clear your holster.
Rotate pistol to point at the enemy with elbow pulled back as far as possible, bottom of grip pressed
against rib cage, slide of pistol away from your body to avoid fouling the slide with your clothes
when firing from this close contact position. (You may have to shoot from the close contact position, so practice doing so.) Establish two handed grip with both forearms still pressed tight against
your torso. (You may have to shoot from the close contact position, so practice doing so.)
Punch your pistol straight out to your line of sight. Aim in, slack out of the trigger.
2 - Firing Hand Only Presentation [Avoid muzzling your support side hand.]
Clear concealment garment. Establish grip. Clear holster. Close contact position. (Your pistol
may be covered by your concealment garment. If so, shoot through it. Don't play silly games.)
Extend your firing side arm to bring your sight to your line of sight (you may have to clear the
concealment garment to do this, keep pistol pointed in correct direction). Aim in, slack out.
3 - Support Hand Only Presentations (in order of preference)
[Avoid muzzling your firing side hand.]
These first two techniques allow for establishing the correct grip before removing the pistol
from the holster.
- Reaching in front to establish correct grip: Twist your support side hand to point your thumb
forward, palm outboard. Reach across your front. Establish grip. Clear holster. Aim in, slack out. (Another reason to use the 3 o'clock position for right handers or 9 o'clock for lefties.)
- Reaching in back to establish correct grip: Reach behind your back. Establish grip. Clear
holster. Aim in, slack out. (Another reason to use the 3 o'clock position for right handers
or 9 o'clock for lefties.)
The next two techniques require more manipulation of the pistol to get the correct grip.
- Reaching in front: Pull pistol up far enough to rotate it in the holster. Establish grip.
Cross draw. Aim in, slack out.
- Reaching in front: Pull pistol out of holster. Trap it between your legs. Establish grip.
Aim in, slack out. (This technique prevents movement.)
The following technique does not establish the correct grip, but allows for a quick shot.
- Reaching in front: Establish up side down grip, using little finger as your trigger finger.
Cross draw. Aim in, slack out. (This technique was demonstrated in a course called
“Semi-Auto Pistol Level 2” at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center. It's faster than the
previous two techniques, because you don't rotate the pistol or your grip. But, the chances
of getting a second shot are slim, because the pistol probably will not cycle correctly.)
[Tom Givens was wise enough to decline to allow me to teach these techniques at Tac Con,
because they are dangerous. Students often point their pistols at others behind them or beside
them. So, be careful!]
4 - Surreptitious Draw
- From your bladed interview stance, with one hand, clear concealment garment. Establish grip.
Clear holster. Extend arm down along your side, concealing your pistol behind your thigh.
(You might want to practice doing something else with your support side arm to draw attention
away from what you're really doing.)
- From a seated position, with one hand, clear concealment garment. Establish grip. Clear holster.
Keep pistol concealed under the table or under a napkin or behind your jacket or down by your knee.
How To Overcome Anticipation To Shoot Better by Matthew Maruster
https://www.concealedcarry.com/training-2/get-on-target-overcoming-anticipation/
Well, of course, the real solution is to learn the surprise trigger break,
practice the surprise break, and thus achieve the surprise break. Because, the
surprise break defeats all autonomic nervous system responses, such as pushing
against the anticipated recoil (also freezing, jerking, flinching, etc.).
The surprise trigger break is not obvious. It is not natural. You have to
have someone who knows, teach it to you. A lot of instructors don't teach it.
Because they don't believe in it or they don't understand it, which is fine;
an instructor should stay in his lane. But, the surprise trigger break is a
fundamental part of the Modern Technique as taught by Jeff Cooper. So, you
really ought to learn it.
Putting 5 rounds into a single ragged hole at 5 yards is an experience
you ought not to miss. The surprise break will allow you to do this.
Rifle Tactical Reloads by Chris Cavallaro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y787tGof4B0
Here's a picture from Chile,
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/06/01/chiles-famae-to-introduce-9x19mm-vulcano-pistol/
Here's a picture from France,
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/05/30/potd-french-army-glock-17/
I couldn't help but notice how they've got their support side index fingers
on the front of the trigger guard. Every gun school that I've attended in the
U.S. has taught not to do that.
I think it is essential to have all fingers of the support side hand
together (no gap between fingers) and up tight against the bottom of the
trigger guard. Such a grip significantly reduces muzzle flip. Allowing
the sights to get on target (or back onto the same target) more quickly
for subsequent shots.
Massad Ayoob’s Concealed Carry Tips and Techniques
Appendix and cross-draw styles get your handgun into action fast!
by Massad Ayoob
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2015/05/massad-ayoobs-appendix-cross-draw-concealed-carry-tips-techniques/#hackathorn-rip
I think the disadvantages of appendix carry or cross draw carry far out weigh
the advantages. So, I don't recommend them.
Fighting Shotgun! The Three Keys To Success! by Mike Seeklander
http://blog.shooting-performance.com/fighting-shotgun-the-three-keys-to-success/
"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
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
The average human reaction time to a KNOWN stimulus is .25 seconds.
Therefore, it takes, on average, .25 to both initiate an action and .25
to initiate stopping an action. The total time for each is properly
termed "response time". -- Lee Weems
I have worked on several legal cases where the GG (good guy) was
prosecuted after shooting someone in the back. Shooting started face
to face, and ended up with back turned, with several shots being fired
in rapid succession. It is why I am a fan of large bore, powerful
handguns for self-defense, and the shooting techniques to handle the
recoil. -- Marty Hayes
In case you didn't follow the reasoning, it takes a long time
to react to an unknown stimulus. And once the stimulus ceases
(which is also an unknown stimulus), it takes a long time to react
to that too. So, in a real combat situation where everyone is
translating and rotating, the wise person would want to shoot the
minimum number of shots (as there is a finite probability that
you will get unintended hits with each shot). So, to minimize
the number of rounds required to stop the attack, it makes sense
to shoot more massive bullets.
DTI videos
https://defense-training.com/videos/
"Fear Induced Stress" is the latest. Lots of good information at
this web site.
Always lots of good stuff at
https://crimeresearch.org/
"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
Lessons Learned, and Then, Re-learned by Tom Givens
https://secureservercdn.net/166.62.115.254/d74.722.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/June-2020-Newsletter.pdf
Pistols can fail. Ammunition can fail. Be prepared to deal with it.
Yes, you have to zero your pistol. Every human is different.
So, your grip is unique to you. So, your recoil is unique to you.
So, your point of impact relative to your point of aim will be unique
to you. So, you have to zero your sights!
(Of course, you can't zero your sights until you are shooting tight groups.)
If the point of impact is low, file down your front sight.
If your point of impact is high, install a taller front sight and
then file down to make fine adjustments.
If the POI is to the right of the point of aim, push the rear sight to
the left or the front sight to the right. You should use the proper tool;
a hammer and punch are not the proper tools.
If your POI is to the left of your POA, move your rear sight to the right
or your front sight to the left.
No, adjustable sight are not the answer. They are fragile and will
will lose your zero if bumped. Use your red dot sight to rack your slide
a few times and see how far your point of impact has moved. Drop it on
the ground a few times and see if it even lights up anymore.
"Oh, I would never allow that to happen to my sight."
Maybe not, but your enemy will.
"Concealed-Carry Safety . . . In the Bathroom" by Brad Fitzpatrick
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/5/27/concealed-carry-safetyin-the-bathroom/
This article, posted on the NRA Family web site, is completely wrong
and stupid.
When going to the bathroom, keep your pistol in its holster.
Removing the pistol to put it anywhere is wrong! As John Farnam says,
unnecessary gun handling is the primary cause of negligent discharges.
Chaos!
https://defense-training.com/archives/4942
Don’t assume new, factory guns will run, no matter who made them!
-- John Farnam
I'm presently working armed security in a hospital. The charge nurse was
kind enough to allow me to use one of the endoscopes to examine the bores of
my pistols. This endoscope was as a microscope that you could insert into very
small spaces and had its own light of many frequencies that the user could control
and change at will. Much more sophisticated than any bore scope that I had ever
used. I have renewed respect for Glock pistols. The machining and finish on the
bore of modern Glock pistols is simply fantastic. They are so smooth and hard
that cleaning is easy. I was viewing the bore of a used Glock 22 (40 S&W) that
had at least a thousand rounds through it. To the limits of magnification of
this endoscope, it had no surface imperfections. I was amazed. All of my other
pistols showed pitting to varying degrees.
You have to test fire your ammo to make sure it functions reliably in
your pistol! I bought a box of hollow point ammo from Alpine in Mt. Juliet, TN.
When I racked the slide of my Ruger American, it fed and chambered every time.
But, when firing the pistol the cartridges would often get stuck with the front
of the flat hollow point against the bottom edge of the feed ramp.
The ammo functioned flawlessly with my other pistols.
You have to test THE ammo with THE pistol that you intend to use!
5 Value Packed Production Pistols by Chris Christian
https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2020/5/24/5-value-packed-production-pistols/
Attempting to gently release a hammer with a live round in the chamber,
so that you can carry a DA (double action) pistol with the hammer down, or a
single action pistol with the hammer down, is an act of criminal stupidity.
If the DA pistol does not have a decocking lever, it is not designed
to be carried with a round in the chamber and hammer down. So, don't attempt
to defeat the design of the pistol.
The model 1911 type pistol is designed to be carried with a round in the
chamber, hammer at full cock, safety on (up).
Never attempt to gently release the hammer on either of these pistols.
If the safety officer, at the match you are competing in, instructs you
to put the hammer down, because you have to start with the hammer down,
tell him that you have to unload and change to a real pistol.
Hearing loss is permanent and cumulative.
7 Movements That Give Away Your Concealed Carry Advantage (And How To Fix Them) by Matthew Maruster
https://www.concealedcarry.com/gear/7-movements-that-give-away-your-concealed-carry-advantage-and-how-to-fix-them/
Well, of course, the better solution to exposing your pistol is to
wear an inside the waistband holster.
Well, a better solution to printing when bending forward is to bend
at the knees (the way you're supposed to), instead of bending at the waist.
Bending at the knees with your back straight is sexy and elegant. Bending
at the waist is only acceptable as a forward fold in a yoga class.
Well, the real solution to the unnatural squat is, don't appendix carry.
Hey keeping my shirt straight is part of my CDO, which is the same as
OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), but the letters are in alphabetical
order, the way they're supposed to be.
Hey, if your pants are falling down, wear suspenders.
Shaking hands is even worse than hugging. Jeff Cooper says allowing
someone to control your gun hand may be fatal. We, fencers, always shake
with our non-sword hand.
Thigh holster review
https://www.facebook.com/100000221147820/posts/3436593876357950/?d=n&__s=bstdtgtrj2mkrjt2e0gr
To buy one from the Well Armed Women ~$70
https://thewellarmedwoman.com/product/concealed-carry-thigh-holster-compression-shorts/
How Women’s Clothing Impacts Holster and Gun Choice by Taylor Thorne
https://www.guns.com/news/2020/05/28/how-womens-clothing-impacts-holster-and-gun-choice
Concealed Carry Corner: Carrying While Paddling by Doug E.
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/05/28/carrying-while-paddling/
5 Best Places to Buy Gun Magazines Online [2020] by Allison Goodwin
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-places-buy-gun-magazines-online/
10 Best Online Gun Stores [2020]: New & Used by Eric Hung
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-place-buy-guns-online/
5 Best Places to Buy Ammo Online [2020] by Eric Hung
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-places-to-buy-ammo-online/
Ambidextrous pistols: (updated list)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following are truly ambidextrous --
The latest FN pistols are ambidextrous, but they are expensive, FN 509
retails for around $900. They're good out of the box, but the grip
doesn't fit my hand.
The latest Heckler & Koch pistols are ambidextrous. They have the magazine
release lever, as opposed to the button. The VP9 retails for around $600.00.
It's good out of the box and the grip fits my hand nicely.
The Ruger American pistols are ambidextrous. They retail for
around $500. But, they take a bit of gunsmithing to make them reliable.
For me it was worth it because the grip fit my hand and the angle of the grip fit my wrist.
The Honor Defense, Honor Guard pistols are ambidextrous.
They retail for around $300. I've never groped one, so I can't say anything.
The MASADA from IWI US, the U.S. based arm of Israel Weapon Industries (IWI)
is ambidextrous. MSRP $480. I've never groped one, so I can't say anything.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following has an ambidextrous magazine release, but not ambidextrous slide lock --
Since in combat, you will only need the slide lock to clear a type III malfunction
(failure to extract, a rare occurrence), this is not that big a deal.
The Springfield Armory XD type pistols have ambidextrous magazine releases.
You can press it from either side to release the magazine. But the slide
lock is only on the left hand side of the pistol.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following have ambidextrous slide locks, but not magazine releases --
Since in combat, you will need the magazine release to reload, this is a big deal.
The latest Glocks have ambidextrous slide locks. But their magazine release
is reversible, which means you can make it right handed or left handed. That's not
the same as ambidextrous.
SIG Sauer P320 (military version is called M18) has ambidextrous slide locks.
The M-18 also has ambidextrous thumb safeties (but self-defense pistols should
not have thumb safeties, the military having them is bureaucratic stupidity).
The magazine release may be set up as left or right handed, but is not abmidextrous.
Similarly for the P365.
The latest Walthers have ambidextrous slide locks. But their magazine
release is reversible, not ambidextrous.
The S&W M&P's have a slide lock on both sides and a reversible mag release.
The Remington RP45 has a slide lock on both sides and a reversible mag release.
But, there are no instructions in the manual for reversing the mag release. My
aunt told me, if you don't have any nice to say, don't say anything. So, I'm not
going to say that this pistol is a piece of shit. (Hey look, I'm Kamala Harris.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Magnetic Waistband Leather Holster Black or Brown
https://thewellarmedwoman.com/product/magnetic-waistband-leather-holster-cross-draw-in-black-or-brown/
A neat idea, though I have never groped one.
MASADA™ – 9mm Parabellum
https://iwi.us/product/m9orp17/
Interesting description, though I've never groped one.
“Your car is not a holster.” – Pat Rogers
Wear it or lock it up.
----- Technical -----
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
Fundamentals of Shooting Through Glass by Dr. James Tindall
https://www.drtindall.com/2017/06/13/fundamentals-of-shooting-through-glass/
When I first learned to shoot through front windshields of cars,
I found the deflection of the bullet being opposite to the slope of the glass
to be counter-intuitive. The thing to understand is that glass does not
react the same way as armor plate, on a tank for instance.
"Don't memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Prof. Norman Christ, Physics Department, Columbia University, New York, NY
I loved Ankara, Turkey. Little kids went to the stores in the middle
of the night to pick up groceries for their families without the slightest
fear of criminal activity. Turks have no concept of repeat offenders,
because they don't have repeat offenders. The many Rotary Clubs I visited
were welcoming and friendly.
Shooting Through Glass by Bev Fitchett
https://www.bevfitchett.us/sniper-training-2/shooting-through-glass.html
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Some metal detectors are based on the metal being a conductor. So, you
can induce a current flow in the metal, which generates a magnetic field,
which can be detected. Some metal detectors are based on the metal being
ferro-magnetic (not that it has a magnetic field, but only that a ferro-
magnetic field can be induced in the metal). The problem is that many
metals are not magnetic. [Iron is ferro-magnetic. Cobalt and Nickle are
para-magnetic. Other metals, even metallic Hydrogen, are not magnetic.
If it's not a metal, it's a ceramic. All ceramics are not magnetic.]
Even several forms of steel (an alloy of Iron) are not magnetic.
There are a whole class of stainless steels, know as Mu metals, in which
no magnetic field exists and cannot be induced. I got to play with many
of these metals at my last job (and many decades ago when I worked at the
National Bureau of Standards, as Mu metals are used in the manufacture
of mass spectrometers). So, anti-gunners whining about undetectable
plastic guns were spouting propaganda. There have always been guns that
could not be detected by metal detectors.
3 Things To Know About Wheelchair CCW by Dr. Joseph Logar, PT, DPT
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/6/3/3-things-to-know-about-wheelchair-ccw/
"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
"Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning"
by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel
ISBN-10: 0674729013
ISBN-13: 978-0674729018
"Many common study habits and practice routines turn out to be counterproductive.
Underlining and highlighting, rereading, cramming, and single-minded repetition of new
skills create the illusion of mastery, but gains fade quickly. More complex and durable
learning come from self-testing, introducing certain difficulties in practice, waiting
to re-study new material until a little forgetting has set in, and interleaving the
practice of one skill or topic with another."
Hat tip to Lt. Cmd. Buchholz for recommending this book. I had the honor of
saluting her only once, at her commissioning ceremony.
If you're an instructor, it's really important that you read this book.
Because you don't know what you don't know.
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
SHOULD YOU TALK TO THE POLICE AFTER A SELF-DEFENSE INCIDENT?
by Don West and Andrew Branca
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/33171
After a lethal force encounter (which I expect you to win) --
Call 911, tell them your name, location, ask them to send the police and
an ambulance, and tell them that you acted in self-defense.
And then, STOP TALKING!
When interacting with the responding officers, point out witnesses and
evidence. And then invoke your right to counsel before saying anything.
And then KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! No matter how strong the urge to talk, DON'T!
If you think you can talk your way out of getting arrested, your priorities
are completely screwed up.
When interacting with the investigating detectives, don't talk to the
detectives before consulting with your attorney. Don't talk to the detectives
without your attorney present. If you think that you are smarter than the
cops and that you can handle the situation without your attorney, you are
criminally stupid. (Ask Michael Drejka. Responding officers declined to arrest.
Sheriff declined to press charges. End of story, NOT! Drejka goes to
talk to the police without an attorney present for several hours. The recorded
interview is used as evidence at trial to convict him of manslaughter.)
And then KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! Don't talk to the press.
Don't talk to friends or relatives about the incident. Don't talk to
strangers about the incident.
The Womack Shooting Part 1: Walk Away From the Fight
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/33159
Excerpt:
"Depending on where you live, you may or may not have a legal duty to retreat,
but as a concealed carrier, you may, in many cases have a moral duty to retreat,
and if you abide by that moral duty, should you ever find yourself in a self-defense
shooting, the odds that you’ll be found justified go way up."
The Womack Shooting Part 2: Verbal Threats and Reasonable Fear by SHAWN VINCENT
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/33181
My father would tell me, you can always walk away. Well, most of the
time you can. But, you better be prepared for those rare occasions when
you can't.
Oklahoma Takes Preemptive Action, Bans Red Flag Laws by Mark Chesnut
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2020/05/oklahoma-bans-red-flag-laws/
Over 2 million new gun owners reported in first half of 2020 by Stephanie Pagones
https://www.yahoo.com/news/over-2m-gun-owners-reported-212221778.html
At the 2017 Tactical Conference, Marty Hayes and Masad Ayoob gave
the class "The Firearms Instructor as Expert Witness", where they
encouraged us, firearms instructors to participate in the judicial system
by testifying as expert witnesses. So, I continued by training and
education, and let my attorney and private investigator friends know that
I was available cheap, because I had no experience. In fact, I was
willing to work free of charge to gain experience, especially in pro bono
cases.
Sometimes, especially in high profile cases where the defendant
is indigent (or nearly so), the judge will feel that the public defender
will not be able to handle the case properly. So, the judge will "force"
a more competent/experienced/expensive attorney to take the case.
The judge may pay the defense attorney the public defender wage or
"demand" that the attorney take the case pro bono. (My father got
stuck with some of these cases in Hawaii. Because his reputation was
on the line, he would put up the money for expert witnesses, private
investigators, and other attorneys to help with the cases. Big expense.)
If the case is easy, the attorney won't need help. So, if you
get called, you can bet the case is messy, ambiguous, and the defendants
have done all kinds of stupid things. (People with legal self-defense
training don't get into these bad situations in the first place. Hint,
hint.)
Facts, as I saw them (and I am very biased):
[Some of the facts stated below have been altered to make identifying the
case or the persons difficult. Or, you may consider this a fictional
story that I am telling you for your entertainment.]
Principle (male) of small town school allegedly molests an 11 year old male
student. The parents (husband and wife) of the student do not file a police report,
because the mother is a criminal defense attorney and knows the trauma that
the judicial system will put her son through. I get it, having worked as a
volunteer CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for children in the
Wilson County, Tennessee court system.
Husband and wife go to principle's house to confront him (bad move).
They have all been friends for many years. Both husband and wife are armed.
Wife has extensive training and practices regularly. Husband got the
permit, but no further training and never practices. My impression was
that the wife was a highly trained operator [She never showed any emotion.]
and the husband was a dolt.
Husband shoots and kills the Principle. They both invoke their right to
remain silent and have counsel present during any questioning (smart move).
No arrests at the scene. Because who knows, it could have been self-defense.
No flight risk, pillars of the community, deep roots in the community, etc.
Sheriff tells husband and wife not to leave the Sheriff's jurisdiction,
the county.
A week after the incident, two police detectives show up at the husband's
office to ask him a few questions to "clear up some loose ends". Because,
apparently some other mother had filed a complaint against the principle
for molesting her male child. So, the police had an ongoing investigation
and claimed jurisdiction, even though their suspect was dead.
The husband is also an attorney, estates and financial planning.
Husband thinks he is smarter than the "country bumpkin" detectives,
since he is a highly educated city attorney. So, the husband goes to the
police station without counsel to talk to the police (criminal stupidity).
The indictment was first degree murder for the husband and the wife
(all kinds of lesser included offenses, accessory before the fact,
accessory after the fact, etc. because I think they knew the wife was
the brains and the husband was just the muscle.)
Defense counsel wanted me to testify that husband's lack of training
caused him to over react, as opposed to any malice causing the over reaction.
And that the over reaction was still reasonable in the totality of the
circumstances. And that the gun handling that the husband performed was
in keeping with best practices as taught by the NRA and the gun schools
that I had attended. Note that I would have been testifying about what
the husband said he did.
Fortunately, the case never went to trial, I suspected because the
investigation indicated that the principle was in fact a serial pedophile
who had been using his position as principle to prey upon children in his
school. The District Attorney, who had jurisdiction, declined to proceed
with the case (which is not the same as dropping all charges).
[The District Attorney is a political position. Consider the optics.
Could they find jurors that didn't think that the husband and wife did a
great community service and should be praised for their action?
What got Amy Klobuchar dropped from Joe Biden's list of Vice Presidential
choices? Her record as a prosecutor. Her decision not to prosecute
Officer Derek Chauvin in a previous OIS (officer involved shooting).
Ain't prosecutorial discretion a wonderful thing?]
P.S. I later found out that the wife had actually done field operations
while serving in the Israeli Defense Force, as opposed to serving tea to
the officers.
P.P.S. I later found out that defense counsel had hired a jury consultant.
The jury consultant never commented on the jury. It never got that far.
The jury consultant wrote a report on the defendants, concluding that it
would be effectively impossible to convict them (at least the wife anyway).
This report had nothing to do with the evidence or the legal strategies.
The report was based on the wife's physical appearance, posture, lack of
wearing make up, conservative dress, mannerisms, facial expressions, demeanor,
etc. Remember, 90% of communication is non-verbal. It's all body language.
The wife was never going to testify. The psychological details of this
report were deep. "So, what?" you might think. The report wasn't written
for the defense. The report was written for the prosecution. But, information
warfare dictates that how the enemy receives the information determines the
credibility of the information. So, the report was leaked to the prosecutor's
office by a deputy prosecutor who was sleeping with a person in the jury
consultant's firm.
If I were an imaginative novel writer, I couldn't make this stuff up.
"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 (the one we swore to uphold and defend
against all enemies)
***** ***** ***** Survival, Medical, Security, and such ***** ***** *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
Feedback on the HAC 8 Hour Course (author not identified)
https://civiliandefender.com/2020/06/02/feedback-on-the-hac-8-hour-course/
Image Based Decision Drills cited in the article might refer to the item
described in the "Image-Based Decisional Skills" article above in the
Training section of this blog posting.
The Psychology of Deterring Attackers–Part I
An Interview with Dr. William Aprill by Gila Hayes
https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/the-psychology-of-deterring-attackers-part-i
Excerpt:
"Although we are not a very impressive animal, one of the reasons that we
rule the planet is because we are good at a very rarified set of skills that
are incredibly useful: behavior prediction and threat detection."
Off-Road Racer BJ Baldwin Describes Intense Fatal Shootout
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2020/05/off-road-racer-bj-baldwin-shootout/
https://www.facebook.com/22561081832/videos/237925704323250
Excerpt:
"I had a gun, a permit, and training."
The race car driver boyfriend shoots the bad guys.
The professional shooter girlfriend does not shoot.
Threat Journal
https://threatjournal.com/archive/tj06062020.html
Willingness is a state of mind. Preparedness (or lack thereof) is a fact.
***** ***** ***** Basics ***** ***** *****
"Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
Don’t Do These Things with Your 1911!
https://www.thearmorylife.com/dont-do-these-things-with-your-1911/
Protective Gear for the Range by Jay Grazio
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/5/31/protective-gear-for-the-range/
What to Know About Handgun Sights by Mark Dye
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/5/25/what-to-know-about-handgun-sights/
Excerpt:
". . . a bit of experimentation is always necessary to find what actually works for you."
If you've done any work in graphic arts or advertising, you know that
you can make your lettering easier to read with high contrast. If you
have to put your lettering over a changing background, one way to ensure
the lettering remains visible is to have high contrast between the outline
of the letters and the body of the letters. This is exactly what Mr. Dye
is recommending when he says to put a white stripe down the center of your
black front sight post.
Video: How to Clean Your Gun by NRA Staff
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/5/17/video-how-to-clean-your-gun/
That bit about "run a patch down the bore before shooting" is really
important. Oil (actually just about any liquid you are likely to put in
your bore) is incompressible. And it generally does not get squeegeed out
the muzzle when the bullet is driven down the bore by burning propellant.
[You might want to take a fluid physics course to understand exactly why.]
The bullet has enough force to run over the oil. The oil doesn't compress.
So, what happens is that you get dents in your bore. I've seen such with
a bore scope in rifles and 155mm Howitzers. So, please take this seriously.
4 Ways to Choose Your First Concealed-Carry Gun by Brad Fitzpatrick
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/5/19/4-ways-to-choose-your-first-concealed-carry-gun/
Wise advise, not recommendations of products.
***** ***** ***** Miscellany ***** ***** *****
When it's least expected, you're selected.
-- John Farnam
Quips
https://defense-training.com/quips
Lots of good stuff worth reading.
I work the security night shift at a high rise office building in downtown
Nashville, TN. The parking structure is 6 floors of smooth non-slip clean
concrete. During the pandemic, the parking structure has been completely empty.
Skateboard heaven!
At the ski slopes you have to buy a lift pass. At my office building,
it's free elevator rides. Heaven on Earth!
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
Limatunes' Range Diaries
https://limatunesrangediaries.wordpress.com/
Insightful, but be prepared, some of the essays are raw and heartbreaking.
Such as "The First Step In Defense Against Rape".
Melody writes that her new web site is at
MelodyLauer.com
but the URL (Uniform Resource Locator, web address) doesn't seem to work.
“Peace Officers” vs. “Law Enforcement Officers”
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/peace-officers-vs-law-enforcement-officers
Greg, thank you very much for writing this.
A young (LCpl. USMC) colleague at work told me of his unit. They let their
hair grow long, grow beards, learn the local language and customs to blend in.
(Middle East, South West Asia)
I asked him how well it worked. He said not too well. I told him that they had
to live with the natives for at least a year. They had to eat the local food,
so they smelled like the natives. Eating with someone, sharing food with someone
is very important. You can't be going back to base every night to eat at the
mess hall. You have to learn to enjoy eating the local food.
If you're not living with the locals, you won't understand what they are talking
about. He told me the deployments were not that long and they had to return to
base on a regular basis to resupply, deliver intel, and such. He asked me how
long we would stay in the field. I told him two to three years at a time.
He asked me how I could go so long without taking a bath. I told him the
North Koreans used dogs. The dogs can identify non-North Koreans by smell.
You eat American food and shower with American soap, the dogs will tear you apart.
Maybe it's different now days. Maybe they've eaten all their dogs. He told
me he couldn't be gone that long. He has a wife. She wouldn't wait that long.
I told him I had lost many relationships because of absence. He told me about
how the present Commandant is changing the Marine Corps; getting rid of the tanks,
reducing the attack helicopter units, eliminating two infantry regiments, . . .
Things change. But, some things never do.
The recent riots and looting have caused us to start carrying pistols at
the facilities we guard. We used to carry Tasers. We've started locking all
the doors and staying inside, instead of doing foot patrols around the perimeters
and parking lots. Roving gangs have been setting fires. The rioters set the
Graingers across the street from the building I work in on fire. The rioters
set the court house on fire. Some of our guys were trapped inside fighting the
fire before the Nashville Fire Department showed up. The cops had to make the
area safe for the firemen. Ya, I've started wearing body armor again.
"Seven Things You Don’t Know About Body Armor"
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/seven-things-you-dont-know-about-body-armor
Excerpt:
. . . You won’t be able to fire that ammo or eat all that stored food if you get
shot and die because you didn’t have body armor.
[Hat tip to the Tactical Prof.]
Greg is right about you having to practice with long gun and pistol. You
might not be able to assume your isosceles position with your armor on. You might
find your butt stock sliding off your shoulder. Got to practice and figure these
things out before combat.
Greg says body armor is hot. Damn right. You better have at least three
of the cloth carriers that hold the soft armor. One is in the wash, one is
on your body, and one is hanging in your closet. Same with boots, one pair is
on your feet, one is at home drying out.
/* Random data from the HotBits radioactive random number generator */
unsigned char hotBits[55] = {
6, 236, 68, 198, 246, 31, 8, 13, 66, 108, 101, 63, 192, 103, 179, 51,
53, 24, 38, 217, 16, 120, 12, 242, 135, 62, 164, 195, 5, 156, 196, 223,
217, 143, 230, 38, 187, 208, 14, 76, 145, 90, 40, 212, 40, 111, 249,
72, 76, 54, 42, 109, 240, 192, 234
};
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
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