Greetings Sheepdogs,
This newsletter is continuing education for students of defensive pistolcraft.
Krispy Kreme doughnuts fresh off the line and hot coffee are evidence that
heaven is on Earth. If we are living in heaven, why do bad things happen to
good people? Because the so called "good" people don't pay attention to what
is going on around them and they don't prepare. God promises peace for His
people, not for everyone. His people practice situational awareness. Judges 7:5-6
Every earthquake is preceded by pre-shocks. (Yes, as a matter of fact, I am a
school trained and real world experienced geophysicist.) Every attack is preceded
by pre-assault cues. (Massing of troops, grooming behaviors, etc.) If the victim
didn't know what to look for, that is the victim's fault. Yes, I am blaming the
victim, because the victim is at fault.
Joe Dolio says, "This is called “normalcy bias” and it’s downright DANGEROUS.
Normalcy Bias is why people wait too long to evacuate during hurricanes and fires,
and its why people die when denying that a robbery or assault is happening.
This 3,000-year-old Tactical Wisdom from the Bible proves it’s been going on forever:
". . . 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."
-- Ezekiel 33:4
Of course, it's not enough to see the danger coming, the person must know
what to do to avoid, evade, or escape the danger. This takes training and practice.
Failure to train and practice is effectively saying to your loved one's, "I don't
care about you. I will shirk my responsibility to protect you."
You may have to kill the enemy to escape the danger. Such is the real world.
Accept it. Get used to it. Embrace it. Just as you embrace and are comfortable
with your death. Because it's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when".
15% of email just disappear. No bounce. No error message. So it is up to
you to ensure receipt. Always request an acknowledgement on important messages.
This I know from data that we generated when I was a graduate student at the
University of California Santa Cruz. In the old days, the owners of the backbone
servers would allow researchers to monitor and collect meta data. No, it was not
NSA sponsored. It was just a computer science class at UCSC.
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***** ***** ***** Prevention ***** ***** *****
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----- Mindset (figuring out the correct way to think) -----
If you look at someone bigger, faster, and stronger and immediately think,
' I'm at a disadvantage ',
I have news for you: you are.
But that's only because you just put yourself there for no reason.
The truth is that anyone can do debilitating violence to anyone else.
Your size, your speed, your strength, your gender --
all the factors that untrained people think make
the difference when it comes to violence --
all matter far less than your mindset and your intent.
-- Tim Larkin
"Duel at the Dumpster (Part VII)" by the Tactical Professor
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2023/02/22/duel-at-the-dumbster-part-vii/
This is in the mindset section because my father would always tell me that
"It takes two to fight. You can always walk away." But that's not true.
You can always try to walk away. But the other guy gets a vote.
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
Ah, yes, living in Nashville, TN. You have to be the type of person who enjoys
dumpster fires.
"Police investigating self-defense claim in deadly road rage shooting"
by Colleen Guerry and Ethan Illers
https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/1-dead-1-detained-following-shooting-in-madison-police-say/
If you're going to the rescue of others, you have to understand what's going on,
and you have to be willing to shoot. You can cooperate with the police, just have
your attorney present before you start cooperating. That means you must have
an attorney on call. That means you must have a self-defense insurance policy
that gives you instant access to an attorney 24/7/365 who will respond to your call
immediately. Or, I guess, if you're rich, you can have an attorney on retainer.
“Willingness” is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact!”
-- David M Shoup, USMC Commandant, 1960-1963
Don't irritate strangers. For all you know, he just buried his wife and children,
decided to commit suicide, and you look amazingly like the drunk driver who killed
his family. His last thought will be that he did the world a favor by killing you.
Park your car correctly, not in someone else's space, not in a handicap space.
Don't litter. Don't throw your cigarette butt on his lawn. Don't howl like a wolf
at the pretty girl, don't whistle either. Don't give anyone the middle finger.
He may get convicted. Your family may get a lot of money. But, you'll still be dead.
Don't argue with strangers.
In Aq's Combative Pistol class, he showed us a video of a couple arguing with
their neighbor. The lady of the couple is heard saying, "You're on camera." She
thought the neighbor would be inhibited by long term consequences. But he had
previously decided to commit suicide. So for the neighbor, there were no
consequences. She and her husband didn't understand this. So they are both
still screaming in disbelief when the neighbor shoots both of them to death.
(The neighbor had shot the couple to the ground with a pistol. Went back into
his house to get a rifle. Came back out onto the road. And then shot both of
them to death with his rifle. While the couple's child watched from their car.)
It is a terrible mistake to believe other people think the way you think. They don't.
Auditory exclusion (can't hear anything) and tunnel vision (loss of all
peripheral vision) are real. Plan for them. Train for them.
If you let them take you by surprise, your preparation has failed.
If you train for them, they might not happen. Training is inoculation.
"Situational Awareness" by U.S. Law Shield
https://www.uslawshield.com/situational-awareness/
"You need to have the capacity for danger. You need to be ‘dangerous’.
Yet, you need to learn how to not use it except when necessary. And, that is not
the same thing as being harmless. . . . There's nothing virtuous about harmlessness.
Harmless just means you’re ineffectual and useless."
-- Jordan Peterson
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----- Safety ----- (How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.)
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 [in the register position]
UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET. [Also, what may move in front of your
target (in case someone panics and runs in front of you) and what is beyond your
target (in case you miss or pass through).]
"Don’t Play with Guns in Vehicles" by the Tactical Professor
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2023/02/24/dont-play-with-guns-in-vehicles/
"If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it.
The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury. Therefore
what he must fear is his victim."
-- Col. Jeff Cooper
“Sometimes, you go to the circus. Sometimes, the circus comes to you”
-- Carr
“Safe Circus?” by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/safe-circus/
"There are no victims, only volunteers.
You volunteer by looking uncertain and afraid.
You volunteer by being, as grass-eaters invariably are,
unprepared to confront the hazards of life."
— Jeff Cooper
Email from Ox & David Morris --
"Don't Let The Bad Guy Take Your Gun . . . 3 Easy Tips"
First: When your gun is not in your possession, lock it up.
I have many fond memories of visiting my neighbors' house growing up.
They had a big gun cabinet with glass doors in their living room.
I would always run up to it and gawk at the guns.
That was fine 30-40 years ago, but it doesn't work anymore.
If you only have one firearm, I suggest a quick-access safe.
If you have multiple, I suggest a combination of quick access safes and a
traditional combination safe . . . and pepper spray or a fire extinguisher
right next to it. This can buy you enough time to get to your gun.
Second: If / when you carry, make sure it is concealed or in a retention holster.
When a lot of people see a firearm being carried openly in a non-retention holster,
they think, "There's a gun if I need one."
When people carry openly, they negate one of the biggest advantages concealed
carriers have . . . surprise.
That being said, many people still prefer open carry.
If you're intending to carry openly . . . regardless of the reason, I strongly
suggest using a holster with level 2 retention. Why a "level 2?" A level 2 holster
has to be unlocked before you can remove the pistol from the holster. I wouldn't
suggest holsters where you release the pistol with your trigger finger, like the Serpa.
I DO recommend holsters where you release the pistol with your thumb,
like the Comp-Tac and Safariland.
Third: Train to fight with a gun . . . not just shoot paper with it. Paper targets
won't rip your pistol out of your hand . . . the bad guys will. You need simple,
effective skills to be able to fight to your gun. To create the time and space that
you need to get your gun into the fight. And you need to practice them along
with drawing and shooting. That's not something you can really do with live fire.
It's too dangerous and most ranges won't let you. A lot of people think they'll
punch an attacker in the face and then draw their gun. However, most of those
people haven't punched anyone hard in the face in the last decade . . . or three.
That's not a bad thing, but it DOES mean you need smarter ways of striking
attackers . . . smarter strikes AND smarter targets. Punching a determined
attacker's face with a closed fist probably isn't going to end very well for you.
[You're going to break a lot of parts of your hand. -- Jon Low]
---
Excerpt from the online posting by Ox -- (paraphrased)
Blocking does not work. Don't waste your time blocking.
---
Tim Larkin doesn't teach blocking techniques. Because they are a waste
of time. He teaches that every action should be a strike that causes injury.
Hopefully incapacitating injury.
General Patton told his troops, don't worry about your flanks, make the
enemy worry about his flanks.
[People (or schools) that teach blocking techniques are teaching a sport,
not combat. There is no defense in successful combat. There is only
overwhelming violent offense. (I wonder why no one will let me teach at
their conference?)
-- Jon Low]
"4-year-old girl shot and killed by 3-year-old sister in Houston, sheriff says
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the child was "unintentionally" shot."
by Marilyn Heck
https://abcnews.go.com/US/4-year-shot-killed-3-year-houston-sheriff/story?id=97819873
Excerpt:
"You've got to make sure you're a responsible gun owner," Gonzalez said.
"Secure your weapons in a safe place. It's got to be more than just to tell the
kids not to touch the weapons."
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:
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.
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----- Training (figuring out the correct tasks to learn) -----
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false.
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
Annual Rangemaster Instructor Reunion/Conference, $526.77
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/annual-instructor-reunionconference-tickets-450527238097
Sat, Aug 12, 2023, 8:00 AM – Sun, Aug 13, 2023, 5:00 PM CDT
White Hall Last Resort Range
4220 Gravel Pit Road, White Hall, AR 71602
"Studying Violence | If You Don’t Want to Get Your Ass Kicked . . . "
by Aaron Haskins
https://www.breachbangclear.com/if-you-dont-want-to-get-your-ass-kicked/
Excerpt:
". . . GET TRAINING. GOOD training, not a bullshit four hour concealed
carry permit course from some random jackass at the local gun range."
---
Jon's opinion --
We are humans, at the top of the food chain (at least when we are out of the
water). We got to the top by using tools. We stay at the top by using tools.
Use tools! That means you must acquire the tools, and you must train and
practice with the tools. Because you must be proficient using the tools.
The younger you are, the less likely you can defend yourself without tools.
The older you are, the less likely you can defend yourself and others without tools.
The weaker you are, the more disabled you are, . . .
Unarmed combat is a young man's game. It is not optimal self-defense.
Use tools. Win the conflict immediately with ruthless efficiency.
"Take training from different instructors.
We are all wrong about something."
-- John Farnam
Here is a list of training conferences and courses that I recommend:
Tac Con 2023
https://taccon.info/
Sold out long ago. I attended this for many years. It is the best.
---
Guardian Conference
Oklahoma City Gun Club
12465 NE 234th St, Arcadia, OK 73007
September 15th - 17th, 2023
Sept 15th, 2023; 7:15 AM - 5:30 PM
Sept 16th, 2023; 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Sept 17th, 2023; 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
https://guardianconference.com/
I attended this last year. It was very good.
---
The 5th Annual
Security Operations Summit 2023, $159.00
27 - 29 July 2023 A.D.
The Journey Church
1240 Leeville Pike
Lebanon, TN 37090
http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ejlksn3ice449a46&llr=econctzab
---
Active Self Protection National Conference 2023
https://activeselfprotection.com/asp-national-conference-bullets-and-bibles-2023/
The 6th Annual Active Self Protection National Conference
September 22-24
Hosted Near Manhattan, KS
---
Law of Self Defense ADVANCED Class
Saturday, April 15, 2023
9AM-4PM Mountain time
https://lawofselfdefense.com/live-online-class-221001f/
Can't attend the live class due to a schedule conflict? No worries!
Every registrant will have access to a recording of the live class for a full two weeks!
Active Response Training (Greg Ellifritz)
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/upcoming-2023-open-enrollment-classes
Rangemaster (Tom Givens)
https://rangemaster.com/firearms-training/
Defense Training International (John Farnam)
https://defense-training.com/training-courses/
FPF Training (John Murphy)
https://www.fpftraining.com/
Harris Combatives (Randy Harris)
http://harriscombative.com/calendar/
“The secret of success is this.
Train like it means everything when it means nothing –
so you can fight like it means nothing when it means everything.”
-- Lofty Wiseman
"Instructor Said What? 10 Defensive Shooting Terms, Explained
Here's the lingo that will help you absorb the most from your training."
by Frank Melloni
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/instructor-said-what-10-defensive-shooting-terms-explained/
"When Can I Draw My Gun" by Mike Ox
https://dryfiretrainingcards.com/blog/when-can-i-draw-my-gun/
The Marine Corps says, mishaps are caused by three things:
1. Time compression - usually self imposed rushing, usually unnecessary rushing.
A slow hit is effective. Lots of fast misses are ineffective.
[It only seems slow. Actually, it's fast. That's the tachypsychia effect.
Common in high stress situations.]
2. Distraction - not paying attention to what you are supposed to be doing.
Front sight, press.
[You mean I can't be texting or watching movies on my smart phone?
Most auto collisions are caused by distracted driving.]
3. Breaking habits - Do what you trained to do. The way you trained is correct.
That's why you trained to do it that way. Follow your protocols. Don't get fancy,
especially not in the middle of combat. Combat should be old hat for you, been
there, done that. The enemy will provide all the excitement.
[If you don't know what is correct, get some expert training. If you don't have
any protocols, get some expert training. If it is not old hat for you, PRACTICE!]
God may give you the words, but He will not give you skill during combat
that you neglected to acquire in the decades of time you had to acquire it (instead
of watching TV, drinking beer, buying prostitutes, etc.)
"But, she is only $20 and she cooks you breakfast in the morning. We're in
Korea. The wife will never know."
Ya, how did that work out for you?
"Picked up a nasty disease. Wife found out. Haven't seen the kids in years."
Actions have consequences.
On 2/25-26/2023, I took the Rangemaster Combative Pistol class from Aqil Qadir.
Citizens Safety Academy
https://citizenssafety.com/
Some of things I learned: (ya, you got to take the class to understand some
of the things I'm talking about, this is a teaser)
Besides anti-social violence, there is pro-social violence.
Sooner is always better than faster.
Lifestyle rules.
Lifestyle principles.
In combat, 3 to 5 shots in 3 to 5 seconds. Because shooting faster than you
can think is a bad thing.
You won't see your impacts. [I would add that the bad guy won't give you
any indication that he felt the shot impact. That's just reality. -- Jon Low]
Quickly, on demand, under duress. No misses. [Because every miss is a
hit, destroying property, injuring innocent bystanders or friendlies, maybe
killing them. -- Jon Low]
Mobility, stability, flexibility. [Body] Weight forward.
Concerning the grip - leverage, friction, pressure.
Blurry sights are okay.
Aligning sights while shooting.
Trigger finger like a wet noodle.
Follow through - sight picture, slack out, after the shot.
You must vet your equipment.
Gun on, ego off.
Space = time. Time = options.
Competence derived confidence. Coolness. Stay in your rational mind.
Push the enemy into his emotional mind.
Act decisively with automaticity.
Train harder than you fight to compensate for stress and duress.
"I wasn't dead yet. I hadn't run out of ammunition.",
explanation as to why he kept fighting.
The FBI says that 1/3rd of criminals have been shot. So, they have experience.
There is no substitute for experience. You must be prepared for this reality.
You will only see one red dot with both eyes open and focused on the target.
Have enough skill so that under duress you'll have enough skill left to win.
Shoot to high standards. [Because you really are not good enough. -- Jon Low]
Use your sights. [Those who teach not using your sights are WRONG! -- Jon Low]
Yes, even on moving targets and odd positions.
Revolvers are obsolete. [Anyone who teaches otherwise is WRONG! -- Jon Low]
Practice support side shooting. [Murphy's Law - Anything that can go wrong,
will go wrong, at the worst possible time.]
Law enforcement officers enforce the law after the fact. They do not prevent
crime.
You must read the actual laws. Justia.com
You must read the jury instructions to see how the laws are implemented.
You must read the legislative history to see what the legislature intended.
Loquaciousness will get you convicted and imprisoned, even if you are
justified and innocent of any crime. That's just reality. Accept it. And
keep your mouth shut.
"If the local language is violence, you need to be fluent." -- Randy Harris
On 3/4-5/2023, I took the Church Security Fundamentals class from
Randy Harris of
Harris Combative Strategies
http://harriscombative.com/
and Joe Gilbert of
Agape Tactical
https://agapetactical.com/
Some of the things I learned:
Have a plan for protecting and evacuating the pastor. Yes, as a matter of fact,
the bad guy wants to kill the pastor.
Have security personnel check in by radio ever hour. Because things happen.
Have area assignments and stick to your area. The "attack" is a distraction to
pull you out of your area. Yes, the enemy is that smart. And staying in your
area prevents friendly fire casualties. Especially if you all are not wearing uniforms.
Who is the mobile reserve? Those assigned to respond to a incident, so that
others won't feel they need to leave their post to respond to the incident.
Have maps of the facility available at every entrance. Because the
responding officers are not familiar with your building.
As soon as practical don your brightly colored sash, otherwise the
responding officers might shoot you. Oh, yes, it has happened many times.
The responding officers don't know you from Adam.
Can the occupants lock the doors? Who can unlock the doors? Locked
doors save lives.
Visible deterrence. Magnetic signs on cars saying "Security" for instance.
Parking lot ministry is essential. Must identify and stop the threat before
it enters the building.
Doorway greeters are essential. Must identify and stop the threat before
it enters the building.
Searching bags? Of those you don't know? Of suspicious persons?
You must know where every team member is seated. "I don't have to cover that,
because John is there.", "I must cover that door, because no one else is covering
that door.", etc.
Are you willing to move past an injured child to terminate the threat?
[In the Marine Corps we were taught to leave the wounded on the ground and
push forward, because that allowed the Corpsmen to come forward to care for
the wounded. If you stop to help the wounded, you are not killing the enemy,
which allows the enemy to kill more friendlies. -- Jon Low] Ya, I know, sometimes
reality sucks.
Pistol quality. If you haven't used your pistol, holster, belt, etc. in the clothes
that you wear to church service in a real training class where you fired 500 rounds
over two days, you really don't know if your equipment will work in combat.
Pray with your eyes open, head on a swivel. No where in the Bible does it say
you have to close your eyes and bow your head. That is a tradition, that is not
Biblical.
The pastor should have a shadow who escorts him from and to his car. This
is a transitional space. Transitional spaces are where attacks occur.
Carry a flashlight. It should be bright enough to blind the enemy in the day time.
If you can blind him, you might not have to shoot him. That's a big win for you.
Practice calling 911. Most persons cannot physically make the call when
under stress / duress. Do you know what to say? (Do you know the address of
the church building?) Can you say it intelligibly? Most people cannot when
under stress. You must practice. [Historically speaking, the first 911 call doesn't
get made until 5 minutes after the start of the incident. The incident is over in
3 minutes, statistically speaking.]
Carry self-defense insurance. If you think the church will pay your legal fees
for the criminal and civil trials, you're a fool. If you think no one in the congregation
will sue you, you're a fool. And historically wrong. Jack Wilson, who stopped
the murderer in the West Freeway Church of Christ incident, was civilly sued
by 3 persons in his own congregation. It took 6 months for the criminal charges
to be dropped. His attorneys had to convince the prosecutors to drop the charges.
His legal fees were enormous. He had the foresight to carry U.S. Law Shield
insurance. Do you have such foresight?
Pray it never happens. Plan because it may happen. Train like you know
it's going to happen tomorrow.
---
An "order of protection" is a criminal order allowing for a warrantless arrest.
A "restraining order" is a civil order, basically worthless. It may result in a civil
bench warrant 3 months later. Long after the victim has been murdered.
Are you willing to die for those you are protecting? Are you willing to kill
to protect them? If the local language is violence, you need to be fluent.
Are you competent to clear a building? You may need to, in your church building.
[The last building that I cleared (for real, not a drill) was the Akiva Elementary
School. It took me a couple of hours and was exhausting. Ya, I had to do it
by myself. It had to be cleared before the faculty and students arrived in the
morning. There had been an intrusion alarm in the early morning. -- Jon Low]
Explode off the X. Not getting shot is good.
Take the fight to the enemy. (Or take off.)
If nothing happens at your church, you are not wasting your money on training.
You are succeeding.
The bad guy who killed 9 persons at the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston,
SC did not initially choose the Emmanuel AME Church. It was his 5th choice.
The first 4 churches that he approached had greeters in the parking lots. He feared
that they would have identified him as hostile based on his racist bumper stickers,
his attitude, his demeanor, etc.
While he was invited into the Emmanuel AME Church, none of the Bible study
participants sat next to him or behind him. So no one was was close enough to
interdict his draw or put hands on him in time.
Pre-lock all doors. (so they will lock when closed) Locked doors save lives.
Closing a door is a gross motor operation. Something you can do under stress.
Child care must sign in and out. Sunday morning is statistically when domestic
violence occurs.
Have a dump button on the live streaming video. Black Lives Matter wants
people to see them disrupting your church. Remember the tenets of BLM is
destruction of all religious institutions and destruction of the nuclear family.
BLM is basically atheist communists.
Be able to send a mass text to all medical personnel.
Have all congregants back into their parking spaces. Driving in reverse is a
skill that most persons don't have, especially when under duress.
The hero who stopped the murderer at the Waffle House in Antioch, TN
was unarmed. He won, because he decided to attack. Decisiveness WINS!
Violent counter attack WINS!
Jack Wilson was 72 years old when he stopped the attack in his church.
He shot the bad guy in the head at 46 feet with his first shot, while he was moving,
while the bad guy was moving (to kill the pastor). Wilson had confidence in
his ability to make the shot (and the confidence to shoot over the head of another
congregant) because he had practiced for the past 15 years on that specific shot.
He set a timer for 2 seconds, and shot an 8" pie plate at 15 yards, which is 45 feet.
He practiced this shot 800 to 1000 times per month for 15 years. (He practiced
many other shots as well.)
In the actual event, he shot the bad guy once through the ear hole at 46 feet
in 2.13 seconds. No accident. No luck.
In practice, use photo realistic targets that display the assailant at various
angles to you. Some of the targets should be LEOs in plain clothes wearing
badges, LEOs in uniform, innocent bystanders holding tools (like electric
drills, or cell phones), persons with hands in pockets, etc.
[I shot the plain clothed officer pointing a pistol at me. His badge was on his
belt, very difficult to see. Especially when focused on his pistol pointing at me.
Mistakes are okay as long as they are reasonable and you have the financial
resources to hire competent attorneys. -- Jon Low]
Those who teach that a person will lose fine motor control during high stress
situations are wrong. Trigger control is fine motor control. You will not lose what
you have trained and practiced. You really never had the skill to begin with if you
never trained and practiced it. So, you're not losing it, you're just realizing that
you never had it.
To clear a Type III malfunction, failure to extract - Rip, Ram, Rack.
Rip the magazine out (completely out of the magazine well). Ram the magazine
back in. Rack the slide. It works on most modern striker fired pistols.
My pistol (Springfield Armory XD Tactical in 45 ACP) was grouping with
point of impact 8 inches to the left at 20 yards range. I didn't know that my
pistol was not zeroed, because I had never shot that pistol at that distance.
Ya, I should have noticed it at closer distances, but I didn't. We tried to push
the rear sight and broke the sight pushing tool. (Yes, I paid the range owner
for the broken pusher.) I had to take the slide to my machinist friend to get
the rear sight positioned.
---
I only mention the stuff that would make sense in this email. A lot of the
stuff would only make sense if you were in the class. So I omit it.
---
Some pictures and videos --
https://www.facebook.com/groups/RangemasterInstructors/permalink/3479538045632008/
This is why my mother told me to wear clean underwear.
From an email from Ox & David Morris --
Last week, FL Senator, Marco Rubio introduced the
"Sunshine Protection Act of 2023" to put an end to the 2x per year changing
of the clocks and instead institute permanent "daylight savings time."
Hopefully it will pass this time.
I'm glad it's finally happening, but it will be the end of one of the largest
and longest lasting sleep experiments in history.
What they've found over the years is that the spring time change is associated
with a 24% increase in heart attacks!
Similarly, the fall time change is associated with a 21% decrease in heart attacks.
What a difference an hour of sleep can make.
Now, as big of a deal as this is, the deadliest day of the year is traditionally
New Year's Day . . . also, presumably in part because of a lack of sleep AND sleep
quality.
In a society that puts those who don't sleep on a pedestal and for whom
the saying, "I'll sleep when I'm dead" is often heard, it can be hard to think
about sleeping more.
But sleep is super-valuable. Not only are people who sleep less than 7 hours
2.94 TIMES more likely to get sick than those who get more than 7 hours,
sleep is especially when you're trying to learn or refine a skill.
I'll share an example from "Real World Gunfight Training."
Do you know what the difference in learning speed is for a student who
sleeps 6 hours the night after doing training vs. a student who sleeps 7 hours?
According to Cornell Professor, Dr. James Maas, that extra hour will increase
the speed that you learn/refine skills by 40%! Find something else that will do that.
For an 8 hour training day, that could mean that the student who sleeps 7 hours
gains about 2 hours and 20 minutes over the student who only sleeps 6!
All of a sudden, that hour of sleep is worth it.
-- Ox & David Morris
Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
----- Practice (how to get competent at that task) -----
"Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
Why practice?
"To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment
when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and
offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique
to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if
that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that
which could have been their finest hour."
-- Winston Churchill
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
"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
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
----- Strategy (deciding on the end state and how to achieve it,
which tactics to use, which includes not getting involved) -----
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
"Escape and Evasion" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/ee/
Excerpt:
". . . any time you hear, “Shelter in place!” and “We’re in lock-down!”
adhering to that advice is likely to be fatal.
It’s time to get out and away, any way you can, no matter what anyone says!"
---
Teach your children to run. Never shelter in place. Sheltering in place is an
act of criminal stupidity. As we saw in the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX
and elsewhere.
"Why do such policies exist?"
Because the policies are written by politicians and bureaucrats who have no
experience or training.
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, and Escape
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Tactics (tasks that you should strive to be able to do in support of your strategy) -----
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
"Basics Of CQB - The Corner" by Gabe Suarez
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trbUcbYvb_A
Please read this. The details are important.
"Safe Driving: How to Back Out of a Kill Zone
Tips on backing a car out of kill zones and other dangerous situations"
by Tony Scotti
https://www.csoonline.com/article/2118881/safe-driving--how-to-back-out-of-a-kill-zone.html
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
You don't want to turn your side to the enemy because your front windshield is
much more difficult for bullets to penetrate than your side windows, your engine
is much more difficult to penetrate than your doors, and you expose your passengers
to the gunfire more in a broadside exposure.
"IMPACT WEAPONS - THEIR USE TODAY" by Gave Suarez
https://www.patreon.com/posts/impact-weapons-79508257
Excerpt:
. . . I disagree, and think the era of impact weapons has come to a close.
Here is why. . . .
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques (ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics) -----
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
From Randy Harris' class on church security --
to clear a type III malfunction, failure to extract,
Rip, Ram, Rack
Rip the magazine out. Ram the magazine in. Rack the slide.
Doesn't work on model 1911s or Browning Hi Powers.
Works on all modern striker fired pistols. (Usually, nothing in this world is perfect.)
"Thoughts On Carrying Two Guns
Backup guns are common in law enforcement, but what about the armed citizen?"
by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/thoughts-on-carrying-two-guns/
"Knife Combatives - Support The Knife" by W. Hock Hochheim
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s07tnHb2uyk
"The Concealed Carry Seat Belt Conundrum" by Kyle Lamb
https://www.gunsandammo.com/editorial/the-concealed-carry-seat-belt-conundrum/247850
"When You Can't Use Your Sights, Aim With Your Body" by Richard Nance
https://www.handgunsmag.com/editorial/when-you-cant-use-your-sights-aim-with-your-body/137699
"An Empty Gun Is Useless: Mastering Speed Reloads" by Richard A. Mann
https://gundigest.com/more/how-to/firearm-training/an-empty-gun-is-useless-mastering-speed-reloads
Shooting support-hand only is good, but should be preceded by drawing
with support-hand only. Shooting from the ready position assumes that
the shooter was able to get the pistol out of the holster with his support hand only.
There are many techniques. These are the ones that I teach:
I. Reaching around the back of the body - (this is the preferred method)
A. Thumb forward, palm outboard, establish a proper grip. *
B. Won't work when wearing a backpack, seated against a back rest,
lying on the back, etc.
II. Reaching around the front of the body --
A. Supinated - thumb forward, palm outboard, establish the grip before
pulling the pistol out of the holster. *
B. Pronated - thumb forward, palm outboard, establish the grip before
pulling the pistol out of the holster. (Oh yes, there are people who can do
this. It's just a matter of stretching.) *
C. Rotate in the holster - pull the pistol partially out of the holster,
rotate (roll as opposed to pitch or yaw) the pistol by 180°, establish a proper
grip. [This is why FLETC forbids the SERPA holsters. The pistol, in particular
the Glocks, will get jammed in the SERPA holster, requiring disassembly
of the holster.]
D. Rotate in the belt - draw the pistol with an upside down grip, insert
the pistol into the belt in front of your navel, rotate the pistol by 180°,
establish a proper grip.
E. Hold with knees - draw the pistol with an upside down grip, place the
pistol between your knees, establish a proper grip.
F. These techniques won't work when pregnant, when carrying a
baby in a frontpack, if your belly is obstructing, etc.
III. If you drop the pistol, let it hit the ground and then establish a proper
grip. This may be faster than any of the techniques above, but you lose
control of the pistol. The pistol will not fire. The pistol will not bounce.
The pistol will not roll away.
---
The starred, "*", techniques allow the shooter to establish a correct grip
while the pistol is still in the holster.
Being able to draw from the front or back of your body with support side
hand is yet another reason for carrying with your inside the waistband
holster on a sturdy belt at the side of your body. It's really useful to be able
to reach behind your back to draw your pistol. Do a little stretching. Take
a yoga class. You can do it.
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Postvention ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
----- Aftermath (You have to be alive to have these problems:
criminal and civil liability.) -----
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the direct address
https://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/never-talk-to-police.html
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the direct link is,
http://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/self-defense-insurance.html
Read this before you buy insurance. You need to make an informed decision.
"You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob
“Your understanding and consent are not required
for someone to take your life, kill your loved ones,
and destroy all you hold dear.”
-- William Aprill
----- Survival, Medical, etc. -----
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
"Spec Ops Medic Teaches Sucking Chest Wounds and Seals"
by Dennis Lyons, on Mountain Man Medical
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppCQPI_ndjs
Anywhere between the neck and navel.
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
Rangemaster MARCH 2023 NEWSLETTER
https://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2023-03_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
"Chris Cypert on Asking the Right Questions" by Lee Weems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obEII259lls
Gun guys talking international politics.
What is the best instructor?
“Mission drives the gear train.” -- Pat Rogers
Sending the wrong person to schools.
Mass casualty preparation.
School lock down is criminal stupidity in the event of an active invasion.
Stop the bleeding and get them into the recovery position and clear their air way.
Cardio Pulmenary Resusitation, Automated External Defibulator, stopping the bleed,
tourniquets, wound packing.
---
Citizens Defense Research
Founded by Melody Lauer and John Johnston
https://citizensdefenseresearch.com/
---
Jon Low's opinion --
Big city police departments hire people who are not rough around the edges,
on the theory that they will be less likely to shoot criminals. But such wimps are
easily forced into no win situations, where they are forced to go to guns. Why?
Because the police executives who make the hiring decisions are cowardly
politicians. Why? Because the politicians that appoint these executives are
cowards. Why? Because that is the people's choice. Why? Because the voters
are incompetent (They don't do any research. They vote party line, because that's
the way mom or dad voted.). Why? Because we allow welfare recipients to vote.
Because we allow people who own no property, have no savings, have no
community roots, to vote.
Only honorably discharged veterans should be allowed to vote.
Robert A. Heinlein says so.
I think only gainfully employed, tax paying, land owning, gun owning, Christians,
who are married, and have children who are not on welfare and are not in jail
should be allowed to vote.
"Weekend Knowledge Dump" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/weekend-knowledge-dump-february-24-2023
Every experience of getting shot is different. Here is one.
"What it feels like to be shot in the chest by a 7.62mm bullet from an AK-47,
traveling at 1,000kph: Lance Sergeant BOB GILES reveals how he
experienced a 'warm glow' after being gunned down in Iraq as his body closed
down and his lungs filled up" by Lance Sergeant Bob Giles
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11845663/What-feels-like-shot-chest-bullet-AK-47-Lance-Sergeant-BOB-GILES.html
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
***** ***** ***** Legal ***** ***** *****
"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
From John Hearne --
https://www.facebook.com/TwoPillarsTraining/posts/pfbid0Y4kLm6iEjPcr1p2YsaunW7ep9biNq5x4cv4wjmfu6SrzFdAR7SpxuejTGZdhUCxil
"WE SOLVED IT!
"Gun Violence" DROPS by 50% WITHOUT GUN CONTROL . . .
I wonder why the media is SILENT . . ." by Langley Outdoors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cd6BpJvlSA
Meat starts at 1:14. Omaha, Nebraska. No gun control. No red flag laws.
Source article,
"How one city cut gun violence in half and may become a model around the country
Omaha, Nebraska, has seen a marked decrease in shootings."
By Ella McCarthy
Video by Jessie DiMartino
https://abcnews.go.com/US/omaha-nebraska-cut-gun-violence-half-become-model/story?id=96799185
"Aurora Victim’s Family Says Gun-Control Group Misled Them
on Risks of ‘Meritless’ Lawsuit That Drove Them into Bankruptcy"
by Stephen Gutowski
https://thereload.com/aurora-victims-family-says-gun-control-group-misled-them-on-risks-of-meritless-lawsuit-that-drove-them-into-bankruptcy/
Brady United Against Gun Violence conned Sandy and Lonnie Phillips into
suing the companies that sold the guns and ammo to the guy who murdered their
daughter with promises of millions of dollars of settlement money. Brady United
Against Gun Violence bragged to the Phillips that they had won 60 million dollars
for plaintiffs across the country. Just about all of that was the settlement with the
insurers of the already defunct Remington Arms Company. Insurance companies
never have to pay more than the value of the insurance policy. So it wasn't a "big"
win. It was just the value of the insurance policy.
The greedy Phillips looking to profit from their daughter's death jumped on the
con. Brady United Against Gun Violence never told the Phillips how much money
their plaintiffs had been forced to pay in defendant's legal fees in failed lawsuits.
Only greedy people get conned.
The U.S. has federal law that protects gun companies from frivolous lawsuits.
Colorado has state law that protect gun companies from frivolous lawsuits.
The court always orders the plaintiffs to pay reasonable legal fees of the defendants
in the case of frivolous lawsuits. Only stupid people get conned.
"California Goes Full ‘Woke’ on Banking Discrimination Against Firearm Industry"
by Larry Keane
https://www.nssf.org/articles/california-goes-full-woke-on-banking-discrimination-against-firearm-industry/
"South Carolina House OKs permitless carry of handguns"
by James Pollard
https://apnews.com/article/politics-law-enforcement-crime-south-carolina-8f6b3953338a9c772daf47f2c6af62a4
"TN Lawmakers propose allowing 18-year-olds to carry guns without a permit
The bill comes after the state lost a lawsuit deeming it 'unconstitutional' to
prevent 18-year-olds from carrying since they can legally buy a gun at 18."
by Katelyn Keenehan
https://www.wbir.com/article/news/politics/18-year-olds-could-soon-carry-gun-without-permit-in-tennessee/51-ce9d6faa-6201-40ec-9d59-2a8c7a4814bb
"UPDATE: Discover Credit Card to Track Gun Purchases Starting in April"
by Joshua Swanagon
https://globalordnancenews.com/2023/02/24/update-discover-credit-card-to-track-gun-purchases-starting-in-april-by-joshua-swanagon/
24 Attorneys General Warn Credit Card Companies Not to Track Gun Purchases
At this past weekend's Rangemaster Combative Pistol course taught by Aqil Qadir,
a guest speaker, Howard Marbury, an attorney (whose resume would knock your
socks off), gave us a lecture on Use of Force laws. He said that the Michael Drejka
case was very defendable and noted that the responding officers did not arrest
Drejka, and that the Sheriff did not press charges against Drejka. The reason
Drejka was charged and convicted was that he went in to talk to a police
interrogator without his attorney. At trial his attorney could not undo all of the
things that Drejka had said in the interrogation.
Don't talk to the police. They are not your friends. If you must talk to the
police, take your attorney. And let your attorney speak for you.
"Plaintiffs ask court to issue preliminary injunction to prohibit the
state from enforcement of the parks statute." by John Harris
https://tennesseefirearms.com/2023/02/plaintiffs-ask-court-to-issue-preliminary-injunction-to-prohibit-the-state-from-enforcement-of-the-parks-statute/
Primary source documents included in article.
Using the courts to overturn unconstitutional laws.
"State of Texas and GOA sue BATF over “pistol brace” rule –
where is the State of Tennessee – UPDATED"
by John Harris
https://tennesseefirearms.com/2023/03/state-of-texas-and-goa-sue-batf-over-pistol-brace-rule-where-is-the-state-of-tennessee/
"Bump stocks back on store shelves in three states" by Cam Edwards
https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2023/03/04/bump-stocks-back-on-store-shelves-in-three-states-n68044
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
Louisiana, Mississippi or Texas – the three states that comprise the Fifth Circuit.
Excerpt:
The court went on to say, however, that even if the issue wasn’t as
cut-and-dried [Bump stocks don't fit the definition of machinegun. -- Jon Low]
they still would have sided with Cargill in his challenge because of the rule of lenity.
“A rich legal tradition supports the “well known rule” that
“penal laws are to be construed strictly.”
United States v. Wiltberger, 18 U.S. (5 Wheat.) 76, 94–95 (1820).
As Chief Justice Marshall explained long ago, the rule
"is founded on the tenderness of the law for the rights of individuals;
and on the plain principle that the power of punishment is vested
in the legislative, not in the judicial department. It is the legislature,
not the Court, which is to define a crime, and ordain its punishment." . . .
"Federal Judge Grants Injunction Blocking Enforcement of ATF’s
‘Frame or Receiver’ Rule" by Dan Zimmerman
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/federal-judge-grants-injunction-blocking-enforcement-of-atfs-frame-or-receiver-rule/
Excerpt:
The injunction takes effect immediately.
"Tennessee bills would change gun permit laws, allow campus carry"
by Jon Styf
https://www.thecentersquare.com/tennessee/article_8acdfc2e-b2d5-11ed-b73c-73ab95fd7d20.html
Of interest to me because I live in Tennessee.
“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 a dishonorable population
represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
***** ***** ***** 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
Avoid foul language. You want your students to feel comfortable bringing their
daughters and granddaughters to your classes. Remember, the little girls need
your classes far more than your present student does.
Technique that I learned in the Marine Corps for safely inducing stress and
disorientation before a skill exercise --
Place one end of a baseball bat on the ground. Place the student's forehead on
the other end of the bat. Keeping the bat in contact with the ground and the
forehead, move around the bat 10 times as quickly as possible (it's a race). Someone
else will have to count out the rotations, because the student won't be able to after
the third rotation or so. Many won't be able to stand afterwards. Some students
get so dizzy they vomit. So best to do it outdoors with a water hose available.
It would also be nice to have a Corpsman on hand. Some have fallen down midway
through the skill exercise. So you must have at least one assistant instructor on
the student to ensure he doesn't fire in an unsafe direction.
A trick that sometimes works for some people is to do a somersault on the
ground after spinning around the baseball bat.
"9 Strategies to Increase Employee Retention" by Dale Carnegie (the company,
not the person)
https://www.dalecarnegie.com/blog/9-strategies-to-increase-employee-retention/
"Humble Leaders" by Matt Norman and Mark Marone
https://www.dalecarnegie.com/en/resources/humble-leaders-what-defines-them-and-how-they-unlock-a-high-performance-culture
Excerpt:
"Research suggests that humility in leadership not only drives others to higher
levels of performance, it also contributes to lower turnover, lower absenteeism,
higher quality, and stronger teamwork. When people feel “bigger,” they
accomplish more and do better work. When they feel “smaller,” they shrink from
challenges and lower their aspirations. Humble leaders, just like my first boss,
make people feel bigger."
As C.S. Lewis said,
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”
Dale Carnegie pointed the way toward this dimension of humble leadership
when he wrote, in "How to Win Friends and Influence People", that leaders
should “become genuinely interested in other people” and “talk in terms of
the other person’s interests.”
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
----- Andragogy -----
An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.
-- "Building Shooters" by Dustin Salomon
"The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives."
-- Robert John Meehan
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Gear ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
“What you don’t have is always important!”
-- Botha
"Short Supply!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/short-supply/
"How to Disassemble a Glock Magazine" by McKenzie Hanson
https://www.targetbarn.com/broad-side/how-to-disassemble-a-glock-magazine/
Using Hanson's technique, there is a good chance that you will bend (deform) the
spring. Better would be to take a thin screwdriver and pry the floor plate off the
sides of the bottom of the tube.
Once you get the floor plate off, take a box cutter or single edge razor and cut off
those tabs. Then you can slide the floor plate off and on easily. And then you won't
have to deal with this silliness anymore.
Another improvement to the Glock pistol would be to take a Dremel tool and
grind away the bottom 90 degree edge of the trigger guard by the grip, just enough
to prevent Glock knuckle (as Aq calls it). After shooting my Glock for three days
for my job, I got a nasty callous on the knuckle of the big joint of my firing hand
middle finger. Trust me, you don't want this. And it's an easy fix.
It's also known, in the industry, as under cutting the trigger guard.
---
My modifications to the typical Glock pistol for my students and clients -
Grind off the protrusions on the front strap that separate the fingers. Because
nobody's fingers match those protrusions.
Grind out some space at the top of the tang to avoid irritation and blisters when
used by students who have arthritis or protruding sesamoid bones.
Undercut the trigger guard by the grip to avoid Glock knuckle (a blister and callous
on the big joint of the middle finger).
Shave off some of the plastic on the sides of the magazines. They are just too tight.
I think you ought to be able to eject the magazine by twisting your forearm in a snappy
motion, roll the pistol (as opposed to pitch or yaw), using centripetal acceleration to
force the magazine out. Of course, if it dropped free with gravity that would be better.
Machine out the rear sight by 2 hundredths of an inch to allow proper sight
alignment, especially in low light conditions. They are the steel tritium glow in the
dark Glock sights, not the cheap plastic sights. If the barrel is short, you may have
to machine out 3.5 to 4 hundredths of an inch.
The maritime modification, which means the cups around the striker have been
cut to allow water to drain out in the event of the pistol being submerged. Otherwise,
you get a hydraulic action retarding the striker. Which could cause a light striker
hit on the primer.
Machine serrations in the sides of the slide to allow purchase to perform a
chamber check. Ya, I know some instructors teach against the practice of doing
a chamber check at all. And some teach against performing a chamber check by
reaching under the pistol and grabbing the sides of the slide with the pads of the
fingers. And of course if you have a weapon attached light under your barrel,
you might not be able to do such a chamber check. But, I teach against weapon
mounted lights. And I like doing a chamber check this way. Ya, I know it gets
your fingers too close to the muzzle. [I'm conflicted. I have psychological
tension. I suffer from institutional inertia.]
Polish all trigger mechanism bearing surfaces.
The sear in the frame that holds the striker back is smoothed and rounded.
They come from the factory as a sheet metal stamping and so are rather rough
and mis-shapen.
At this past weekend's Church Security Fundamentals class, given by Randy
Harris of
"Harris Combatives"
http://harriscombative.com/
I found out that my Springfield Armory XD is impacting 8 inches left of point
of aim at 20 yards. I didn't know this because I had never shot that pistol at that
distance or longer. (Up close, it was zeroed good enough for government work.)
During the class, we shot out to 40 yards. An eye opening experience.
Mr. Bill Newman, the range owner, was kind enough to lend me his sight pusher
to adjust the rear sight. I broke the sight pusher. Snapped the part that pushes
the sight clean off. Yes, I paid for a replacement.
When I got home my friend, Aidan, was able to move the rear sight.
The calculation is as follows:
Point of impact is 8 inches left of point of aim at 20 yards.
20 yards is, 20 yards X 3 feet / yard X 12 inches / foot = 720 inches.
The sight radius is 7 inches. So, 720 / 7 = 8 / Adjustment. Thus,
56 = 720 X Adjustment. Hence, Adjustment = 56 / 720 = 0.0777. . . inches right.
I'm pretty sure Aidan had to use a punch to move the rear sight. (I see the tool
marks.)
If you're used to playing with rifles, the movement of the rear sight by that
much may shock you. It did me. The thing is, at close ranges, you have to move
the sights a lot to move the point of impact. "A lot" is relative.
---
During the class, I had 3 failure to feed malfunctions. It was because
I had cleaned all of my magazines the night before, and when assembling one
magazine, had put the follower in backwards. One can never be too careful.
I didn't notice during assembly. I didn't notice when charging the magazine.
"Custom Guns Will Hurt You In Court ? - NONSENSE!" by Gabe Suarez
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfaO44HVpEo
"The Best Pistol Red Dots of 2023, Tested and Reviewed"
by Tyler Freel and John B. Snow
https://www.outdoorlife.com/gear/best-pistol-red-dots/
---
A red dot sight allows you to aim with both eyes open and focused on the target.
If the non-aiming eye can see the dot in the sight window, it will be on point of
impact, even if not centered in the sight window. If the non-aiming eye cannot see
the dot, that's okay too. It all depends on the size of the window, the distance
between your eyes, the length of your arms, and such.
"12 Best Pistol Red Dot Sights [Real-Views + Video]" by Eric Hung
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-pistol-red-dot-sights/
I'm waiting for the prices to come down. I resist being an early adopter of
any technology.
"Hey, Staff, all of the Marine Corps rifles have red dot sights on them.
The recently discharged Marines have never shot with iron sights."
Ya, I know.
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
*************************************************************************
***** ***** Religion, Politics, History, War Stories, et al ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
Rest In Peace Beverly Clark.
Rest In Peace Allston Kitchens.
Rest In Peace David Liebtag (APL2 developer at IBM).
I wasn't crystal clear in my last post. The Nashville, TN District Attorney,
Glenn Funk, was prosecuting righteous cops (because they were Caucasian) and
neglecting to prosecute violent criminals (because they were Negro or members
of Black Lives Matter). [And so got the endorsement and support of Black
Lives Matter et al. And so won the recent election.] So many of us asked
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, to remove Glenn Funk. As Florida Governor,
Ron Desantis, had removed such District Attorneys in Florida. But Bill Lee has
aspirations, and so having learned from the experiences of others, Pilot (the
Roman Governor), didn't want to get his hands dirty, much less have to wash them.
So he used the Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to opened a
criminal investigation on Funk for illegal wire tap. But the AG needed cover
and so waited for Channel 5 News to publish a story and then claimed that he
was forced to investigate because of Channel 5's investigative journalist.
"Tennessee attorney general opens criminal investigation of
Nashville DA Glenn Funk's office, letter shows" by Phil Williams
https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/the-das-deals/tennessee-attorney-general-opens-criminal-investigation-of-nashville-da-glenn-funks-office-letter-shows
Notice the author of the report, Williams, gave Skrmetti the cover he needed.
It all started when several defense attorneys got suspicious when the prosecutors
seemed to know things that they should not have known. When you're corrupt,
a little more corruption goes unnoticed. And Funk is very corrupt. Notice Funk
did not deny the allegations. Nor did he try to explain them away. Because he
believes he is above the law. After all, he's the duly elected prosecutor.
It's fun to watch politics. See how they destroy each other, sometimes kill each
other. Oh, did you notice the Clinton advisor who committed suicide by shooting
and hanging himself? He even hid the gun. The cops never found it. Now that's
a suicide. No, really, it was classified a suicide.
"Project: Preparing for Devolution of Emergency Services"
by Paul T. Martin
https://paultmartin.com/blog/f/project-preparing-for-devolution-of-emergency-services
In case you don't know what going on in Austin, TX; and every other Democrat
controlled city.
The Federal Protective Service (a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security) told us that Nashville, TN is a sanctuary city. The Mayor and Police
Chief have told their police officers not to assist Federal agents with enforcement
of immigration laws. But the politicians (yes, the police chief is a politician) aren't
too bright and cannot distinguish between immigration law and general violent crime.
So, FPS told us not to expect the cops to show up when we call 911 for assistance.
No, really, Nashville Police just don't show up.
My beloved Marine Corps being destroyed by its own generals.
"Snipers!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/snipers-2/
"Sheriff’s office releases new details,
IDs 2 killed in Morrow County gas station shooting"
by 10TV Web Staff
https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/2-killed-shooting-morrow-county-gas-station/530-607b1fda-bc95-4849-ab13-151eea857ea4
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
"As the musical theme from Candid Camera said,
“when you least expect it, you're selected.” "
-- Stephen P. Wenger
"How just half of all America's murders get solved as homicide
clearance rates slump to their lowest level in four decades from
71% in 1980 to around 50% in 2020" by Ffion Haf
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11798717/Just-half-Americas-murders-solved-homicide-clearance-rates-lowest-four-decades.html
Hat tip to John Hearne, Two Pillars Training,
https://www.facebook.com/TwoPillarsTraining
"The worm that destroys is the temptation to seek approval from your critics."
-- Sun Tzu
"The worm that destroys!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/the-worm-that-destroys-2/
"UNCENSORED: Video Footage Proves January 6th Was a Lie | Ep. 288"
by Liz Wheeler
https://rumble.com/v2c2tdm-uncensored-video-footage-proves-january-6th-was-a-lie-ep.-288.html?mref=hsiwx&mc=bb5c8
Excerpt:
Video footage proves January 6th was a lie.
Every single element of what we've been told January 6th, 2021 was—an
insurrection, a violent riot, an effort to subvert our constitutional republic—is a lie.
Now we have proof. Tucker Carlson released never-before-seen video footage
from inside and around the Capitol on January 6th that proves we were right all
along.
The mainstream media lied to us. The FBI lied to us. Joe Biden lied to us.
And they used those lies to not only attack Donald Trump, but to attack people
who support Trump and paint conservatives as evil, violent insurrectionists.
From classes at work --
Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times the potency of morphine. Carfentanyl has 10,000 times
the potency of morphine. They may be ingested, inhaled, absorbed through the
skin or eye.
Source - Department of Homeland Security, Federal
Protective Service, Protective Intelligence & Investigation Division.
As I move up the hierarchy of the private sector security industry, the jobs
pay more, become easier / safer (not having to fight drunks, addicts, and psychos
every night, the job qualifications get more rigorous / strenuous (pistol
qualifications are more difficult, physical fitness standards are higher, written
and verbal tests are more difficult, etc.)
Some of the guys feel it's less fun because they enjoy fighting the mentally
impaired, sort of like running the bulls in Spain or Mexico. ("Bull fighting" is a
bad English translation. The matador is not fighting the bull.)
"Doing nothing!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/doing-nothing/
Excerpt:
"This week, USMC Sgt Tyler Vargas-Andrews testified before a House
Committee that he and others had multiple opportunities to shoot a suicide
bomber (during our ignominious Afghanistan “withdrawal”) shortly before
that bomber subsequently murdered thirteen other Marines and injured more
than a hundred others.
Vargas-Andrews and other snipers were vehemently denied permission
to shoot this obvious threat, even after repeated requests. Their “superiors”
said they “lacked the authority” to make such a decision (in other words,
they lacked the personal courage to actually make a battlefield call).
"The growing ranks of Black gun owners
The history of gun control is rooted in racism. Given that legacy,
many African American gun buyers say that they are exercising
both a civil and human right." by Jennifer Stefano
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/inq2/black-gun-owners-philadelphia-second-ammendment-20230309.html
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
Check out the expensive guns that these people own.
"Jesse Watters: Democrats aren't happy about this" by Fox News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auqIgIrlhaE
Censorship in the U.S.
Email from the leader of my church security team, Walt Valentine.
WHY GRANDPA CARRIES A GUN . . .
My old Grandpa said to me, "Son, there comes a time in every man's life
when he stops bustin' knuckles and starts bustin' caps and usually it's when
he becomes too old to take a whipping.
I don't carry a gun to kill people; I carry a gun to keep from being killed.
I don't carry a gun because I'm evil; I carry a gun because I have lived long
enough to see the evil in the World.
I don't carry a gun because I hate the government; I carry a gun because
I understand the limitations of government.
I don't carry a gun because I'm angry; I carry a gun so that I don't have
to spend the rest of my life hating myself for failing to be prepared.
I don't carry a gun because I want to shoot someone; I carry a gun because
I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed and not on a sidewalk somewhere
tomorrow afternoon.
I don't carry a gun to make me feel like a man; I carry a gun because men
know how to take care of themselves and the ones they love.
I don't carry a gun because I feel inadequate; I carry a gun because
unarmed and facing three armed thugs, I am inadequate.
I don't carry a gun because I love it; I carry a gun because I love life and
the people who make it meaningful to me.
Police protection is an oxymoron: Free citizens must protect themselves
because police do not protect you from crime; they just investigate the crime
after it happens and then call someone in to clean up the mess.
Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old to take
a whoopin'!
A LITTLE GUN HISTORY . . .
PLEASE DON'T THINK FOR A MOMENT, THAT THIS COULDN'T HAPPEN
IN OUR COUNTRY ALSO!!!
In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control: From 1929 to 1953,
about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up
and exterminated.
In 1911, Turkey established gun control: From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million
Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Germany established gun control in 1938: From 1939 to 1945, a total of
13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were
rounded up and exterminated.
Guatemala established gun control in 1964: From 1964 to 1981,
100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
Uganda established gun control in 1970: From 1971 to 1979,
300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
Cambodia established gun control in 1956: From 1975 to 1977,
one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded
up and exterminated.
56 million defenseless people were rounded up and exterminated in the
20th Century because of gun control.
You won't see this data on the US evening news, or hear politicians
disseminating this information.
Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes,
gun control laws adversely affect only the law abiding citizens.
With guns, we are 'citizens'; without them, we are 'subjects'.
During WW II, the Japanese decided not to invade America because
they knew most Americans were ARMED!
Gun owners in the USA are the largest armed forces in the World!
If you value your freedom, please spread this anti-gun control message
to all of your friends.
The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense.
The sword is more important than the shield and skill is more important than either.
Switzerland issues a gun to every household.
Switzerland's government issues and trains every adult in the use of a rifle.
Switzerland has the lowest gun related crime rate of any civilized country
in the world. It's a no brainer. Don't let our government waste millions of
our tax dollars in an effort to make all law abiding citizens an easy target.
I'm a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment! If you are too, please forward this.
If you're not a believer, please reconsider based on these true facts. This is history;
not what's being shown on TV, sanctioned by our illustrious delusional leaders
in Washington.
-- Walt Valentine
"Your character is what you do when no one is looking."
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe,
and preserve order in the world as well as property.
Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of their use."
-- Thomas Paine
[Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law.
ITAR, International Traffic in Arms Regulations]
Let's keep our definitions straight.
Cryptology:
Encrypting / decrypting is scrambling at the bit level. What is your data
processing method to get your plain text message into bits?
Enciphering / deciphering is scrambling at the letter level of the alphabet.
What about languages that don't have alphabets?
Encoding / decoding is scrambling at the word level. What about languages
that don't have words?
---
Data processing:
Data compression - lossless vs. lossy (JPEG et al, what are we preserving?),
eliminating useless redundancy to improve the efficiency of our cryptosystem.
Error Correcting Coding - adding useful redundancy to allow us to defeat
communication channel noise. [Noise is your friend. Embrace it.]
---
Cryptologic primitives are used in the building of algorithms.
Algorithms are used in the building of protocols.
Protocols are the games (game theoretic games) that we play to ensure some fact.
[For instance, a Zero Knowledge Proof Protocol is not a mathematical proof.
It is a scientific proof. We believe the hypothesis because the probability of the
null hypothesis being true is less than ε, which is arbitrarily small. We drive the
value of ε down by repetitions of our protocol. The value of ε is a function of
our psychological comfort level and engineering constraints (time and space).]
"Unveiling the Future of Antennas and
RF Lenses using Radix™ 3D printable material!"
by Machining and Microwaves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YMRfw0uWlw
They are not using the word "isotropic" the same way we physicists use the word.
Dk is the relative dielectric constant.
Df is the dissipation factor.
"Why can't we figure out what they are saying?"
Hours, minutes, seconds.
Degrees, minutes, seconds.
Except when reading GPS, degrees, minutes, decimal minutes. (What is your
target country using?)
Radians (2π), Gradians (400), Milradian (Mils, 2000π), Degrees (360), and
many others.
Degrees Celsius. How is this defined?
Degrees Centigrade.
Degrees Fahrenheit. How is this defined?
Kelvin (not degrees Kelvin). How is this defined?
. . .
Yes, they are using a different coordinate system. And they are also using a
different system of units.
One would think there would be a simple proportionality constant between
units. But, you have to check the definition of the units. Remember weights
are defined by masses in gravitational fields. You might not be in the gravitational
field near the Earth's surface.
One would think there would be a simple matrix multiplication transformation
between coordinates. But it's not a linear transformation. Connection coefficients
or Christoffel symbols.
Yes, temperature matters. You're operating in the real world, not in pure math.
That's why you have to use error correcting coding, ECC. When the temperature
(as in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, not weather) gets too high the
noise in the channel will get too high. Ya, you can recover the signal, but it might
not be practical to do so. Add the useful redundancy of ECC, and it's practical.
(We are in the real world. So, I'm not using words like tractable and intractable
in the technical mathematical sense. Because only computer scientists care about
that.)
Let ↑ mean exponentiation. Let ≡ mean definition. Let |X| mean the scalar
magnitude of X in a reasonable norm.
Consider f(X, Y) = X ↑ Y. [Note that ↑ is not commutative.]
How to invert f(X, Y)?
We could hold X fixed and solve for Y. That would be the logarithm to the
base X of f(X, Y), which would equal Y.
We could hold Y fixed and solve for X. That would be the Yth root of f(X, Y),
which would be X.
We could . . . (but let's not go off on tangents) . . .
"Our inversion functions are not defined for negative inputs."
That is only true if we restrict our universe to the Real number system.
We do not. Remember we are operating in the real world, not in the Platonic
Realm of Forms. Logarithms, roots, and such are well defined in the Complex
number system, Quaternion number system, Caley number system, and higher.
Let's consider using logs to reduce a continuous scalar the way modulus
arithmetic reduces discrete scalars.
In the Integer number system -
Residue = y modulo(x) ≡ y mod(x) ≡ the remainder of y upon division by x,
discarding the quotient. Where Residue is between 0 and x-1.
In a continuous complete number system -
Result = Jun(X) ≡ if 0 < |X| ≤ 1, then Result = X; else
if 0 < | ln(X) | ≤ 1, then Result = ln(X); else
if 0 < | ln( ln(X) ) | ≤ 1, then Result = ln( ln(X) ); else
if 0 < | ln( ln( ln(X) ) ) | ≤ 1, then Result = ln( ln( ln(X) ) ); else
. . .
Ya, we could get into trouble. The algorithm might not terminate. But, a lot
of the information from the original is in the Result. More than say a
cryptologically secure hash function.
"Oh, so that's what they are doing."
Are they negating with 1's complement? 2's complement? or something else?
Yes, there are other ways to negate.
Big endien? Little endien? or something else?
Yes, there are other formats. [byte order?]
Is the MSB (most significant bit) on the left or right? [bit order]
Beginning or end of the word / string?
Maybe they're using a different format. Maybe they're using a different protocol.
This is all about data processing, not cryptology. Write a program and let the
computer grind it out. Monkey work is for computers. Work that computers
can't do is human work.
I received orders to ". . . change passwords regularly . . .".
That is cryptologically wrong. Good passwords never go stale.
Bad passwords are not mitigated by replacement.
Forcing users to change passwords regularly causes the users
to record the password somewhere, because they can't remember it.
Which defeats the security of passwords.
Whoever wrote this directive has no understanding of cyber security
and should be fired.
The enemy knows of this stupid policy and will launch man-in-the-middle
attacks.
Кристина Грунюшкина, Christina Grunjuskina, wishes you pleasant dreams.
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
“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.)
"Taliban comb Kabul records to hunt down U.S. war allies
Inspector general examines failures of military mission"
by Stephen Dinan
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/feb/27/taliban-using-fingerprints-gun-records-track-down-/
"I can't help thinking of how American Progressives used vaccine mandates
to initiate the purge of conservatives from the ranks of our military and law
enforcement."
-- Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
[Let us remember that during the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden
State Department gave lists of names and identifying information to the Taliban
of those who had helped the U.S. over the past 20 years. -- Jon Low]
Russian Army, 504th Tank Regiment sent to Omsk, Russia for training. (Well,
that doesn't make sense.) After training, none of the drivers were competent to
drive a tank. Soldiers complained that they had completely lost contact with their
commanders. Unit sent to Donbas, Russia. Could not find their commander.
Some Commander in Donbas, Russia told them that their unit was disbanded and
that they were to join the Army of the Donbas People's Republic. The unit was
sent to a rifle range for training, but the range officers asked the soldiers for money
for the ammunition, which indicated that the range officers did not recognize the
unit as Russian soldiers.
Similar reports from Wagner Group. Begging Moscow for ammunition. But,
not getting any. At least they know who their commanders are. I think.
Maybe they can't find their commanders because they have been murdered.
"Tucker: This is crazy"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoVMi2_AoiU
Do you see how this works?
"Tucker: This will make you shiver"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWRWc4jxR5Y
Do you see how this works?
"Tucker's warning if Ukraine war continues"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7I5mrWipls
Do you see how this works?
A gentleman familiar with German and Ukrainian affairs spoke to us at the
Tennessee Firearms Association meeting in Clarksville, TN last night. He told
us that the German Chancellor had promised tanks to the Ukrainians. When
the tanks were not delivered, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense inquired. A
German Lt. General (who is apparently in command of the German Army,
which indicates that the German army is no more than a Corps) told the Ukrainian
MoD that only 30% of Germany's tanks are operational, so they can't spare any,
so they won't be shipping any.
Politicians promise (and get the publicity). Soldiers deliver, if they can.
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
*************************************************************************
"You can’t truly call yourself 'peaceful' unless you are capable of great violence.
If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless.
Important distinction." -- Stef Starkgaryen
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
This newsletter is continuing education for students of defensive pistolcraft.
Krispy Kreme doughnuts fresh off the line and hot coffee are evidence that
heaven is on Earth. If we are living in heaven, why do bad things happen to
good people? Because the so called "good" people don't pay attention to what
is going on around them and they don't prepare. God promises peace for His
people, not for everyone. His people practice situational awareness. Judges 7:5-6
Every earthquake is preceded by pre-shocks. (Yes, as a matter of fact, I am a
school trained and real world experienced geophysicist.) Every attack is preceded
by pre-assault cues. (Massing of troops, grooming behaviors, etc.) If the victim
didn't know what to look for, that is the victim's fault. Yes, I am blaming the
victim, because the victim is at fault.
Joe Dolio says, "This is called “normalcy bias” and it’s downright DANGEROUS.
Normalcy Bias is why people wait too long to evacuate during hurricanes and fires,
and its why people die when denying that a robbery or assault is happening.
This 3,000-year-old Tactical Wisdom from the Bible proves it’s been going on forever:
". . . 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."
-- Ezekiel 33:4
Of course, it's not enough to see the danger coming, the person must know
what to do to avoid, evade, or escape the danger. This takes training and practice.
Failure to train and practice is effectively saying to your loved one's, "I don't
care about you. I will shirk my responsibility to protect you."
You may have to kill the enemy to escape the danger. Such is the real world.
Accept it. Get used to it. Embrace it. Just as you embrace and are comfortable
with your death. Because it's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when".
15% of email just disappear. No bounce. No error message. So it is up to
you to ensure receipt. Always request an acknowledgement on important messages.
This I know from data that we generated when I was a graduate student at the
University of California Santa Cruz. In the old days, the owners of the backbone
servers would allow researchers to monitor and collect meta data. No, it was not
NSA sponsored. It was just a computer science class at UCSC.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Prevention ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
----- Mindset (figuring out the correct way to think) -----
If you look at someone bigger, faster, and stronger and immediately think,
' I'm at a disadvantage ',
I have news for you: you are.
But that's only because you just put yourself there for no reason.
The truth is that anyone can do debilitating violence to anyone else.
Your size, your speed, your strength, your gender --
all the factors that untrained people think make
the difference when it comes to violence --
all matter far less than your mindset and your intent.
-- Tim Larkin
"Duel at the Dumpster (Part VII)" by the Tactical Professor
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2023/02/22/duel-at-the-dumbster-part-vii/
This is in the mindset section because my father would always tell me that
"It takes two to fight. You can always walk away." But that's not true.
You can always try to walk away. But the other guy gets a vote.
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
Ah, yes, living in Nashville, TN. You have to be the type of person who enjoys
dumpster fires.
"Police investigating self-defense claim in deadly road rage shooting"
by Colleen Guerry and Ethan Illers
https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/1-dead-1-detained-following-shooting-in-madison-police-say/
If you're going to the rescue of others, you have to understand what's going on,
and you have to be willing to shoot. You can cooperate with the police, just have
your attorney present before you start cooperating. That means you must have
an attorney on call. That means you must have a self-defense insurance policy
that gives you instant access to an attorney 24/7/365 who will respond to your call
immediately. Or, I guess, if you're rich, you can have an attorney on retainer.
“Willingness” is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact!”
-- David M Shoup, USMC Commandant, 1960-1963
Don't irritate strangers. For all you know, he just buried his wife and children,
decided to commit suicide, and you look amazingly like the drunk driver who killed
his family. His last thought will be that he did the world a favor by killing you.
Park your car correctly, not in someone else's space, not in a handicap space.
Don't litter. Don't throw your cigarette butt on his lawn. Don't howl like a wolf
at the pretty girl, don't whistle either. Don't give anyone the middle finger.
He may get convicted. Your family may get a lot of money. But, you'll still be dead.
Don't argue with strangers.
In Aq's Combative Pistol class, he showed us a video of a couple arguing with
their neighbor. The lady of the couple is heard saying, "You're on camera." She
thought the neighbor would be inhibited by long term consequences. But he had
previously decided to commit suicide. So for the neighbor, there were no
consequences. She and her husband didn't understand this. So they are both
still screaming in disbelief when the neighbor shoots both of them to death.
(The neighbor had shot the couple to the ground with a pistol. Went back into
his house to get a rifle. Came back out onto the road. And then shot both of
them to death with his rifle. While the couple's child watched from their car.)
It is a terrible mistake to believe other people think the way you think. They don't.
Auditory exclusion (can't hear anything) and tunnel vision (loss of all
peripheral vision) are real. Plan for them. Train for them.
If you let them take you by surprise, your preparation has failed.
If you train for them, they might not happen. Training is inoculation.
"Situational Awareness" by U.S. Law Shield
https://www.uslawshield.com/situational-awareness/
"You need to have the capacity for danger. You need to be ‘dangerous’.
Yet, you need to learn how to not use it except when necessary. And, that is not
the same thing as being harmless. . . . There's nothing virtuous about harmlessness.
Harmless just means you’re ineffectual and useless."
-- Jordan Peterson
*************************************************************************
----- Safety ----- (How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.)
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 [in the register position]
UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET. [Also, what may move in front of your
target (in case someone panics and runs in front of you) and what is beyond your
target (in case you miss or pass through).]
"Don’t Play with Guns in Vehicles" by the Tactical Professor
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2023/02/24/dont-play-with-guns-in-vehicles/
"If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it.
The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury. Therefore
what he must fear is his victim."
-- Col. Jeff Cooper
“Sometimes, you go to the circus. Sometimes, the circus comes to you”
-- Carr
“Safe Circus?” by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/safe-circus/
"There are no victims, only volunteers.
You volunteer by looking uncertain and afraid.
You volunteer by being, as grass-eaters invariably are,
unprepared to confront the hazards of life."
— Jeff Cooper
Email from Ox & David Morris --
"Don't Let The Bad Guy Take Your Gun . . . 3 Easy Tips"
First: When your gun is not in your possession, lock it up.
I have many fond memories of visiting my neighbors' house growing up.
They had a big gun cabinet with glass doors in their living room.
I would always run up to it and gawk at the guns.
That was fine 30-40 years ago, but it doesn't work anymore.
If you only have one firearm, I suggest a quick-access safe.
If you have multiple, I suggest a combination of quick access safes and a
traditional combination safe . . . and pepper spray or a fire extinguisher
right next to it. This can buy you enough time to get to your gun.
Second: If / when you carry, make sure it is concealed or in a retention holster.
When a lot of people see a firearm being carried openly in a non-retention holster,
they think, "There's a gun if I need one."
When people carry openly, they negate one of the biggest advantages concealed
carriers have . . . surprise.
That being said, many people still prefer open carry.
If you're intending to carry openly . . . regardless of the reason, I strongly
suggest using a holster with level 2 retention. Why a "level 2?" A level 2 holster
has to be unlocked before you can remove the pistol from the holster. I wouldn't
suggest holsters where you release the pistol with your trigger finger, like the Serpa.
I DO recommend holsters where you release the pistol with your thumb,
like the Comp-Tac and Safariland.
Third: Train to fight with a gun . . . not just shoot paper with it. Paper targets
won't rip your pistol out of your hand . . . the bad guys will. You need simple,
effective skills to be able to fight to your gun. To create the time and space that
you need to get your gun into the fight. And you need to practice them along
with drawing and shooting. That's not something you can really do with live fire.
It's too dangerous and most ranges won't let you. A lot of people think they'll
punch an attacker in the face and then draw their gun. However, most of those
people haven't punched anyone hard in the face in the last decade . . . or three.
That's not a bad thing, but it DOES mean you need smarter ways of striking
attackers . . . smarter strikes AND smarter targets. Punching a determined
attacker's face with a closed fist probably isn't going to end very well for you.
[You're going to break a lot of parts of your hand. -- Jon Low]
---
Excerpt from the online posting by Ox -- (paraphrased)
Blocking does not work. Don't waste your time blocking.
---
Tim Larkin doesn't teach blocking techniques. Because they are a waste
of time. He teaches that every action should be a strike that causes injury.
Hopefully incapacitating injury.
General Patton told his troops, don't worry about your flanks, make the
enemy worry about his flanks.
[People (or schools) that teach blocking techniques are teaching a sport,
not combat. There is no defense in successful combat. There is only
overwhelming violent offense. (I wonder why no one will let me teach at
their conference?)
-- Jon Low]
"4-year-old girl shot and killed by 3-year-old sister in Houston, sheriff says
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the child was "unintentionally" shot."
by Marilyn Heck
https://abcnews.go.com/US/4-year-shot-killed-3-year-houston-sheriff/story?id=97819873
Excerpt:
"You've got to make sure you're a responsible gun owner," Gonzalez said.
"Secure your weapons in a safe place. It's got to be more than just to tell the
kids not to touch the weapons."
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:
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.
*************************************************************************
----- Training (figuring out the correct tasks to learn) -----
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false.
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
Annual Rangemaster Instructor Reunion/Conference, $526.77
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/annual-instructor-reunionconference-tickets-450527238097
Sat, Aug 12, 2023, 8:00 AM – Sun, Aug 13, 2023, 5:00 PM CDT
White Hall Last Resort Range
4220 Gravel Pit Road, White Hall, AR 71602
"Studying Violence | If You Don’t Want to Get Your Ass Kicked . . . "
by Aaron Haskins
https://www.breachbangclear.com/if-you-dont-want-to-get-your-ass-kicked/
Excerpt:
". . . GET TRAINING. GOOD training, not a bullshit four hour concealed
carry permit course from some random jackass at the local gun range."
---
Jon's opinion --
We are humans, at the top of the food chain (at least when we are out of the
water). We got to the top by using tools. We stay at the top by using tools.
Use tools! That means you must acquire the tools, and you must train and
practice with the tools. Because you must be proficient using the tools.
The younger you are, the less likely you can defend yourself without tools.
The older you are, the less likely you can defend yourself and others without tools.
The weaker you are, the more disabled you are, . . .
Unarmed combat is a young man's game. It is not optimal self-defense.
Use tools. Win the conflict immediately with ruthless efficiency.
"Take training from different instructors.
We are all wrong about something."
-- John Farnam
Here is a list of training conferences and courses that I recommend:
Tac Con 2023
https://taccon.info/
Sold out long ago. I attended this for many years. It is the best.
---
Guardian Conference
Oklahoma City Gun Club
12465 NE 234th St, Arcadia, OK 73007
September 15th - 17th, 2023
Sept 15th, 2023; 7:15 AM - 5:30 PM
Sept 16th, 2023; 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Sept 17th, 2023; 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
https://guardianconference.com/
I attended this last year. It was very good.
---
The 5th Annual
Security Operations Summit 2023, $159.00
27 - 29 July 2023 A.D.
The Journey Church
1240 Leeville Pike
Lebanon, TN 37090
http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ejlksn3ice449a46&llr=econctzab
---
Active Self Protection National Conference 2023
https://activeselfprotection.com/asp-national-conference-bullets-and-bibles-2023/
The 6th Annual Active Self Protection National Conference
September 22-24
Hosted Near Manhattan, KS
---
Law of Self Defense ADVANCED Class
Saturday, April 15, 2023
9AM-4PM Mountain time
https://lawofselfdefense.com/live-online-class-221001f/
Can't attend the live class due to a schedule conflict? No worries!
Every registrant will have access to a recording of the live class for a full two weeks!
Active Response Training (Greg Ellifritz)
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/upcoming-2023-open-enrollment-classes
Rangemaster (Tom Givens)
https://rangemaster.com/firearms-training/
Defense Training International (John Farnam)
https://defense-training.com/training-courses/
FPF Training (John Murphy)
https://www.fpftraining.com/
Harris Combatives (Randy Harris)
http://harriscombative.com/calendar/
“The secret of success is this.
Train like it means everything when it means nothing –
so you can fight like it means nothing when it means everything.”
-- Lofty Wiseman
"Instructor Said What? 10 Defensive Shooting Terms, Explained
Here's the lingo that will help you absorb the most from your training."
by Frank Melloni
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/instructor-said-what-10-defensive-shooting-terms-explained/
"When Can I Draw My Gun" by Mike Ox
https://dryfiretrainingcards.com/blog/when-can-i-draw-my-gun/
The Marine Corps says, mishaps are caused by three things:
1. Time compression - usually self imposed rushing, usually unnecessary rushing.
A slow hit is effective. Lots of fast misses are ineffective.
[It only seems slow. Actually, it's fast. That's the tachypsychia effect.
Common in high stress situations.]
2. Distraction - not paying attention to what you are supposed to be doing.
Front sight, press.
[You mean I can't be texting or watching movies on my smart phone?
Most auto collisions are caused by distracted driving.]
3. Breaking habits - Do what you trained to do. The way you trained is correct.
That's why you trained to do it that way. Follow your protocols. Don't get fancy,
especially not in the middle of combat. Combat should be old hat for you, been
there, done that. The enemy will provide all the excitement.
[If you don't know what is correct, get some expert training. If you don't have
any protocols, get some expert training. If it is not old hat for you, PRACTICE!]
God may give you the words, but He will not give you skill during combat
that you neglected to acquire in the decades of time you had to acquire it (instead
of watching TV, drinking beer, buying prostitutes, etc.)
"But, she is only $20 and she cooks you breakfast in the morning. We're in
Korea. The wife will never know."
Ya, how did that work out for you?
"Picked up a nasty disease. Wife found out. Haven't seen the kids in years."
Actions have consequences.
On 2/25-26/2023, I took the Rangemaster Combative Pistol class from Aqil Qadir.
Citizens Safety Academy
https://citizenssafety.com/
Some of things I learned: (ya, you got to take the class to understand some
of the things I'm talking about, this is a teaser)
Besides anti-social violence, there is pro-social violence.
Sooner is always better than faster.
Lifestyle rules.
Lifestyle principles.
In combat, 3 to 5 shots in 3 to 5 seconds. Because shooting faster than you
can think is a bad thing.
You won't see your impacts. [I would add that the bad guy won't give you
any indication that he felt the shot impact. That's just reality. -- Jon Low]
Quickly, on demand, under duress. No misses. [Because every miss is a
hit, destroying property, injuring innocent bystanders or friendlies, maybe
killing them. -- Jon Low]
Mobility, stability, flexibility. [Body] Weight forward.
Concerning the grip - leverage, friction, pressure.
Blurry sights are okay.
Aligning sights while shooting.
Trigger finger like a wet noodle.
Follow through - sight picture, slack out, after the shot.
You must vet your equipment.
Gun on, ego off.
Space = time. Time = options.
Competence derived confidence. Coolness. Stay in your rational mind.
Push the enemy into his emotional mind.
Act decisively with automaticity.
Train harder than you fight to compensate for stress and duress.
"I wasn't dead yet. I hadn't run out of ammunition.",
explanation as to why he kept fighting.
The FBI says that 1/3rd of criminals have been shot. So, they have experience.
There is no substitute for experience. You must be prepared for this reality.
You will only see one red dot with both eyes open and focused on the target.
Have enough skill so that under duress you'll have enough skill left to win.
Shoot to high standards. [Because you really are not good enough. -- Jon Low]
Use your sights. [Those who teach not using your sights are WRONG! -- Jon Low]
Yes, even on moving targets and odd positions.
Revolvers are obsolete. [Anyone who teaches otherwise is WRONG! -- Jon Low]
Practice support side shooting. [Murphy's Law - Anything that can go wrong,
will go wrong, at the worst possible time.]
Law enforcement officers enforce the law after the fact. They do not prevent
crime.
You must read the actual laws. Justia.com
You must read the jury instructions to see how the laws are implemented.
You must read the legislative history to see what the legislature intended.
Loquaciousness will get you convicted and imprisoned, even if you are
justified and innocent of any crime. That's just reality. Accept it. And
keep your mouth shut.
"If the local language is violence, you need to be fluent." -- Randy Harris
On 3/4-5/2023, I took the Church Security Fundamentals class from
Randy Harris of
Harris Combative Strategies
http://harriscombative.com/
and Joe Gilbert of
Agape Tactical
https://agapetactical.com/
Some of the things I learned:
Have a plan for protecting and evacuating the pastor. Yes, as a matter of fact,
the bad guy wants to kill the pastor.
Have security personnel check in by radio ever hour. Because things happen.
Have area assignments and stick to your area. The "attack" is a distraction to
pull you out of your area. Yes, the enemy is that smart. And staying in your
area prevents friendly fire casualties. Especially if you all are not wearing uniforms.
Who is the mobile reserve? Those assigned to respond to a incident, so that
others won't feel they need to leave their post to respond to the incident.
Have maps of the facility available at every entrance. Because the
responding officers are not familiar with your building.
As soon as practical don your brightly colored sash, otherwise the
responding officers might shoot you. Oh, yes, it has happened many times.
The responding officers don't know you from Adam.
Can the occupants lock the doors? Who can unlock the doors? Locked
doors save lives.
Visible deterrence. Magnetic signs on cars saying "Security" for instance.
Parking lot ministry is essential. Must identify and stop the threat before
it enters the building.
Doorway greeters are essential. Must identify and stop the threat before
it enters the building.
Searching bags? Of those you don't know? Of suspicious persons?
You must know where every team member is seated. "I don't have to cover that,
because John is there.", "I must cover that door, because no one else is covering
that door.", etc.
Are you willing to move past an injured child to terminate the threat?
[In the Marine Corps we were taught to leave the wounded on the ground and
push forward, because that allowed the Corpsmen to come forward to care for
the wounded. If you stop to help the wounded, you are not killing the enemy,
which allows the enemy to kill more friendlies. -- Jon Low] Ya, I know, sometimes
reality sucks.
Pistol quality. If you haven't used your pistol, holster, belt, etc. in the clothes
that you wear to church service in a real training class where you fired 500 rounds
over two days, you really don't know if your equipment will work in combat.
Pray with your eyes open, head on a swivel. No where in the Bible does it say
you have to close your eyes and bow your head. That is a tradition, that is not
Biblical.
The pastor should have a shadow who escorts him from and to his car. This
is a transitional space. Transitional spaces are where attacks occur.
Carry a flashlight. It should be bright enough to blind the enemy in the day time.
If you can blind him, you might not have to shoot him. That's a big win for you.
Practice calling 911. Most persons cannot physically make the call when
under stress / duress. Do you know what to say? (Do you know the address of
the church building?) Can you say it intelligibly? Most people cannot when
under stress. You must practice. [Historically speaking, the first 911 call doesn't
get made until 5 minutes after the start of the incident. The incident is over in
3 minutes, statistically speaking.]
Carry self-defense insurance. If you think the church will pay your legal fees
for the criminal and civil trials, you're a fool. If you think no one in the congregation
will sue you, you're a fool. And historically wrong. Jack Wilson, who stopped
the murderer in the West Freeway Church of Christ incident, was civilly sued
by 3 persons in his own congregation. It took 6 months for the criminal charges
to be dropped. His attorneys had to convince the prosecutors to drop the charges.
His legal fees were enormous. He had the foresight to carry U.S. Law Shield
insurance. Do you have such foresight?
Pray it never happens. Plan because it may happen. Train like you know
it's going to happen tomorrow.
---
An "order of protection" is a criminal order allowing for a warrantless arrest.
A "restraining order" is a civil order, basically worthless. It may result in a civil
bench warrant 3 months later. Long after the victim has been murdered.
Are you willing to die for those you are protecting? Are you willing to kill
to protect them? If the local language is violence, you need to be fluent.
Are you competent to clear a building? You may need to, in your church building.
[The last building that I cleared (for real, not a drill) was the Akiva Elementary
School. It took me a couple of hours and was exhausting. Ya, I had to do it
by myself. It had to be cleared before the faculty and students arrived in the
morning. There had been an intrusion alarm in the early morning. -- Jon Low]
Explode off the X. Not getting shot is good.
Take the fight to the enemy. (Or take off.)
If nothing happens at your church, you are not wasting your money on training.
You are succeeding.
The bad guy who killed 9 persons at the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston,
SC did not initially choose the Emmanuel AME Church. It was his 5th choice.
The first 4 churches that he approached had greeters in the parking lots. He feared
that they would have identified him as hostile based on his racist bumper stickers,
his attitude, his demeanor, etc.
While he was invited into the Emmanuel AME Church, none of the Bible study
participants sat next to him or behind him. So no one was was close enough to
interdict his draw or put hands on him in time.
Pre-lock all doors. (so they will lock when closed) Locked doors save lives.
Closing a door is a gross motor operation. Something you can do under stress.
Child care must sign in and out. Sunday morning is statistically when domestic
violence occurs.
Have a dump button on the live streaming video. Black Lives Matter wants
people to see them disrupting your church. Remember the tenets of BLM is
destruction of all religious institutions and destruction of the nuclear family.
BLM is basically atheist communists.
Be able to send a mass text to all medical personnel.
Have all congregants back into their parking spaces. Driving in reverse is a
skill that most persons don't have, especially when under duress.
The hero who stopped the murderer at the Waffle House in Antioch, TN
was unarmed. He won, because he decided to attack. Decisiveness WINS!
Violent counter attack WINS!
Jack Wilson was 72 years old when he stopped the attack in his church.
He shot the bad guy in the head at 46 feet with his first shot, while he was moving,
while the bad guy was moving (to kill the pastor). Wilson had confidence in
his ability to make the shot (and the confidence to shoot over the head of another
congregant) because he had practiced for the past 15 years on that specific shot.
He set a timer for 2 seconds, and shot an 8" pie plate at 15 yards, which is 45 feet.
He practiced this shot 800 to 1000 times per month for 15 years. (He practiced
many other shots as well.)
In the actual event, he shot the bad guy once through the ear hole at 46 feet
in 2.13 seconds. No accident. No luck.
In practice, use photo realistic targets that display the assailant at various
angles to you. Some of the targets should be LEOs in plain clothes wearing
badges, LEOs in uniform, innocent bystanders holding tools (like electric
drills, or cell phones), persons with hands in pockets, etc.
[I shot the plain clothed officer pointing a pistol at me. His badge was on his
belt, very difficult to see. Especially when focused on his pistol pointing at me.
Mistakes are okay as long as they are reasonable and you have the financial
resources to hire competent attorneys. -- Jon Low]
Those who teach that a person will lose fine motor control during high stress
situations are wrong. Trigger control is fine motor control. You will not lose what
you have trained and practiced. You really never had the skill to begin with if you
never trained and practiced it. So, you're not losing it, you're just realizing that
you never had it.
To clear a Type III malfunction, failure to extract - Rip, Ram, Rack.
Rip the magazine out (completely out of the magazine well). Ram the magazine
back in. Rack the slide. It works on most modern striker fired pistols.
My pistol (Springfield Armory XD Tactical in 45 ACP) was grouping with
point of impact 8 inches to the left at 20 yards range. I didn't know that my
pistol was not zeroed, because I had never shot that pistol at that distance.
Ya, I should have noticed it at closer distances, but I didn't. We tried to push
the rear sight and broke the sight pushing tool. (Yes, I paid the range owner
for the broken pusher.) I had to take the slide to my machinist friend to get
the rear sight positioned.
---
I only mention the stuff that would make sense in this email. A lot of the
stuff would only make sense if you were in the class. So I omit it.
---
Some pictures and videos --
https://www.facebook.com/groups/RangemasterInstructors/permalink/3479538045632008/
This is why my mother told me to wear clean underwear.
From an email from Ox & David Morris --
Last week, FL Senator, Marco Rubio introduced the
"Sunshine Protection Act of 2023" to put an end to the 2x per year changing
of the clocks and instead institute permanent "daylight savings time."
Hopefully it will pass this time.
I'm glad it's finally happening, but it will be the end of one of the largest
and longest lasting sleep experiments in history.
What they've found over the years is that the spring time change is associated
with a 24% increase in heart attacks!
Similarly, the fall time change is associated with a 21% decrease in heart attacks.
What a difference an hour of sleep can make.
Now, as big of a deal as this is, the deadliest day of the year is traditionally
New Year's Day . . . also, presumably in part because of a lack of sleep AND sleep
quality.
In a society that puts those who don't sleep on a pedestal and for whom
the saying, "I'll sleep when I'm dead" is often heard, it can be hard to think
about sleeping more.
But sleep is super-valuable. Not only are people who sleep less than 7 hours
2.94 TIMES more likely to get sick than those who get more than 7 hours,
sleep is especially when you're trying to learn or refine a skill.
I'll share an example from "Real World Gunfight Training."
Do you know what the difference in learning speed is for a student who
sleeps 6 hours the night after doing training vs. a student who sleeps 7 hours?
According to Cornell Professor, Dr. James Maas, that extra hour will increase
the speed that you learn/refine skills by 40%! Find something else that will do that.
For an 8 hour training day, that could mean that the student who sleeps 7 hours
gains about 2 hours and 20 minutes over the student who only sleeps 6!
All of a sudden, that hour of sleep is worth it.
-- Ox & David Morris
Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
----- Practice (how to get competent at that task) -----
"Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
Why practice?
"To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment
when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and
offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique
to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if
that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that
which could have been their finest hour."
-- Winston Churchill
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
"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
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
----- Strategy (deciding on the end state and how to achieve it,
which tactics to use, which includes not getting involved) -----
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
"Escape and Evasion" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/ee/
Excerpt:
". . . any time you hear, “Shelter in place!” and “We’re in lock-down!”
adhering to that advice is likely to be fatal.
It’s time to get out and away, any way you can, no matter what anyone says!"
---
Teach your children to run. Never shelter in place. Sheltering in place is an
act of criminal stupidity. As we saw in the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX
and elsewhere.
"Why do such policies exist?"
Because the policies are written by politicians and bureaucrats who have no
experience or training.
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, and Escape
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Tactics (tasks that you should strive to be able to do in support of your strategy) -----
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
"Basics Of CQB - The Corner" by Gabe Suarez
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trbUcbYvb_A
Please read this. The details are important.
"Safe Driving: How to Back Out of a Kill Zone
Tips on backing a car out of kill zones and other dangerous situations"
by Tony Scotti
https://www.csoonline.com/article/2118881/safe-driving--how-to-back-out-of-a-kill-zone.html
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
You don't want to turn your side to the enemy because your front windshield is
much more difficult for bullets to penetrate than your side windows, your engine
is much more difficult to penetrate than your doors, and you expose your passengers
to the gunfire more in a broadside exposure.
"IMPACT WEAPONS - THEIR USE TODAY" by Gave Suarez
https://www.patreon.com/posts/impact-weapons-79508257
Excerpt:
. . . I disagree, and think the era of impact weapons has come to a close.
Here is why. . . .
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques (ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics) -----
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
From Randy Harris' class on church security --
to clear a type III malfunction, failure to extract,
Rip, Ram, Rack
Rip the magazine out. Ram the magazine in. Rack the slide.
Doesn't work on model 1911s or Browning Hi Powers.
Works on all modern striker fired pistols. (Usually, nothing in this world is perfect.)
"Thoughts On Carrying Two Guns
Backup guns are common in law enforcement, but what about the armed citizen?"
by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/thoughts-on-carrying-two-guns/
"Knife Combatives - Support The Knife" by W. Hock Hochheim
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s07tnHb2uyk
"The Concealed Carry Seat Belt Conundrum" by Kyle Lamb
https://www.gunsandammo.com/editorial/the-concealed-carry-seat-belt-conundrum/247850
"When You Can't Use Your Sights, Aim With Your Body" by Richard Nance
https://www.handgunsmag.com/editorial/when-you-cant-use-your-sights-aim-with-your-body/137699
"An Empty Gun Is Useless: Mastering Speed Reloads" by Richard A. Mann
https://gundigest.com/more/how-to/firearm-training/an-empty-gun-is-useless-mastering-speed-reloads
Shooting support-hand only is good, but should be preceded by drawing
with support-hand only. Shooting from the ready position assumes that
the shooter was able to get the pistol out of the holster with his support hand only.
There are many techniques. These are the ones that I teach:
I. Reaching around the back of the body - (this is the preferred method)
A. Thumb forward, palm outboard, establish a proper grip. *
B. Won't work when wearing a backpack, seated against a back rest,
lying on the back, etc.
II. Reaching around the front of the body --
A. Supinated - thumb forward, palm outboard, establish the grip before
pulling the pistol out of the holster. *
B. Pronated - thumb forward, palm outboard, establish the grip before
pulling the pistol out of the holster. (Oh yes, there are people who can do
this. It's just a matter of stretching.) *
C. Rotate in the holster - pull the pistol partially out of the holster,
rotate (roll as opposed to pitch or yaw) the pistol by 180°, establish a proper
grip. [This is why FLETC forbids the SERPA holsters. The pistol, in particular
the Glocks, will get jammed in the SERPA holster, requiring disassembly
of the holster.]
D. Rotate in the belt - draw the pistol with an upside down grip, insert
the pistol into the belt in front of your navel, rotate the pistol by 180°,
establish a proper grip.
E. Hold with knees - draw the pistol with an upside down grip, place the
pistol between your knees, establish a proper grip.
F. These techniques won't work when pregnant, when carrying a
baby in a frontpack, if your belly is obstructing, etc.
III. If you drop the pistol, let it hit the ground and then establish a proper
grip. This may be faster than any of the techniques above, but you lose
control of the pistol. The pistol will not fire. The pistol will not bounce.
The pistol will not roll away.
---
The starred, "*", techniques allow the shooter to establish a correct grip
while the pistol is still in the holster.
Being able to draw from the front or back of your body with support side
hand is yet another reason for carrying with your inside the waistband
holster on a sturdy belt at the side of your body. It's really useful to be able
to reach behind your back to draw your pistol. Do a little stretching. Take
a yoga class. You can do it.
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Postvention ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
----- Aftermath (You have to be alive to have these problems:
criminal and civil liability.) -----
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the direct address
https://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/never-talk-to-police.html
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the direct link is,
http://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/self-defense-insurance.html
Read this before you buy insurance. You need to make an informed decision.
"You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob
“Your understanding and consent are not required
for someone to take your life, kill your loved ones,
and destroy all you hold dear.”
-- William Aprill
----- Survival, Medical, etc. -----
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
"Spec Ops Medic Teaches Sucking Chest Wounds and Seals"
by Dennis Lyons, on Mountain Man Medical
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppCQPI_ndjs
Anywhere between the neck and navel.
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
Rangemaster MARCH 2023 NEWSLETTER
https://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2023-03_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
"Chris Cypert on Asking the Right Questions" by Lee Weems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obEII259lls
Gun guys talking international politics.
What is the best instructor?
“Mission drives the gear train.” -- Pat Rogers
Sending the wrong person to schools.
Mass casualty preparation.
School lock down is criminal stupidity in the event of an active invasion.
Stop the bleeding and get them into the recovery position and clear their air way.
Cardio Pulmenary Resusitation, Automated External Defibulator, stopping the bleed,
tourniquets, wound packing.
---
Citizens Defense Research
Founded by Melody Lauer and John Johnston
https://citizensdefenseresearch.com/
---
Jon Low's opinion --
Big city police departments hire people who are not rough around the edges,
on the theory that they will be less likely to shoot criminals. But such wimps are
easily forced into no win situations, where they are forced to go to guns. Why?
Because the police executives who make the hiring decisions are cowardly
politicians. Why? Because the politicians that appoint these executives are
cowards. Why? Because that is the people's choice. Why? Because the voters
are incompetent (They don't do any research. They vote party line, because that's
the way mom or dad voted.). Why? Because we allow welfare recipients to vote.
Because we allow people who own no property, have no savings, have no
community roots, to vote.
Only honorably discharged veterans should be allowed to vote.
Robert A. Heinlein says so.
I think only gainfully employed, tax paying, land owning, gun owning, Christians,
who are married, and have children who are not on welfare and are not in jail
should be allowed to vote.
"Weekend Knowledge Dump" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/weekend-knowledge-dump-february-24-2023
Every experience of getting shot is different. Here is one.
"What it feels like to be shot in the chest by a 7.62mm bullet from an AK-47,
traveling at 1,000kph: Lance Sergeant BOB GILES reveals how he
experienced a 'warm glow' after being gunned down in Iraq as his body closed
down and his lungs filled up" by Lance Sergeant Bob Giles
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11845663/What-feels-like-shot-chest-bullet-AK-47-Lance-Sergeant-BOB-GILES.html
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
***** ***** ***** Legal ***** ***** *****
"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
From John Hearne --
https://www.facebook.com/TwoPillarsTraining/posts/pfbid0Y4kLm6iEjPcr1p2YsaunW7ep9biNq5x4cv4wjmfu6SrzFdAR7SpxuejTGZdhUCxil
"WE SOLVED IT!
"Gun Violence" DROPS by 50% WITHOUT GUN CONTROL . . .
I wonder why the media is SILENT . . ." by Langley Outdoors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cd6BpJvlSA
Meat starts at 1:14. Omaha, Nebraska. No gun control. No red flag laws.
Source article,
"How one city cut gun violence in half and may become a model around the country
Omaha, Nebraska, has seen a marked decrease in shootings."
By Ella McCarthy
Video by Jessie DiMartino
https://abcnews.go.com/US/omaha-nebraska-cut-gun-violence-half-become-model/story?id=96799185
"Aurora Victim’s Family Says Gun-Control Group Misled Them
on Risks of ‘Meritless’ Lawsuit That Drove Them into Bankruptcy"
by Stephen Gutowski
https://thereload.com/aurora-victims-family-says-gun-control-group-misled-them-on-risks-of-meritless-lawsuit-that-drove-them-into-bankruptcy/
Brady United Against Gun Violence conned Sandy and Lonnie Phillips into
suing the companies that sold the guns and ammo to the guy who murdered their
daughter with promises of millions of dollars of settlement money. Brady United
Against Gun Violence bragged to the Phillips that they had won 60 million dollars
for plaintiffs across the country. Just about all of that was the settlement with the
insurers of the already defunct Remington Arms Company. Insurance companies
never have to pay more than the value of the insurance policy. So it wasn't a "big"
win. It was just the value of the insurance policy.
The greedy Phillips looking to profit from their daughter's death jumped on the
con. Brady United Against Gun Violence never told the Phillips how much money
their plaintiffs had been forced to pay in defendant's legal fees in failed lawsuits.
Only greedy people get conned.
The U.S. has federal law that protects gun companies from frivolous lawsuits.
Colorado has state law that protect gun companies from frivolous lawsuits.
The court always orders the plaintiffs to pay reasonable legal fees of the defendants
in the case of frivolous lawsuits. Only stupid people get conned.
"California Goes Full ‘Woke’ on Banking Discrimination Against Firearm Industry"
by Larry Keane
https://www.nssf.org/articles/california-goes-full-woke-on-banking-discrimination-against-firearm-industry/
"South Carolina House OKs permitless carry of handguns"
by James Pollard
https://apnews.com/article/politics-law-enforcement-crime-south-carolina-8f6b3953338a9c772daf47f2c6af62a4
"TN Lawmakers propose allowing 18-year-olds to carry guns without a permit
The bill comes after the state lost a lawsuit deeming it 'unconstitutional' to
prevent 18-year-olds from carrying since they can legally buy a gun at 18."
by Katelyn Keenehan
https://www.wbir.com/article/news/politics/18-year-olds-could-soon-carry-gun-without-permit-in-tennessee/51-ce9d6faa-6201-40ec-9d59-2a8c7a4814bb
"UPDATE: Discover Credit Card to Track Gun Purchases Starting in April"
by Joshua Swanagon
https://globalordnancenews.com/2023/02/24/update-discover-credit-card-to-track-gun-purchases-starting-in-april-by-joshua-swanagon/
24 Attorneys General Warn Credit Card Companies Not to Track Gun Purchases
At this past weekend's Rangemaster Combative Pistol course taught by Aqil Qadir,
a guest speaker, Howard Marbury, an attorney (whose resume would knock your
socks off), gave us a lecture on Use of Force laws. He said that the Michael Drejka
case was very defendable and noted that the responding officers did not arrest
Drejka, and that the Sheriff did not press charges against Drejka. The reason
Drejka was charged and convicted was that he went in to talk to a police
interrogator without his attorney. At trial his attorney could not undo all of the
things that Drejka had said in the interrogation.
Don't talk to the police. They are not your friends. If you must talk to the
police, take your attorney. And let your attorney speak for you.
"Plaintiffs ask court to issue preliminary injunction to prohibit the
state from enforcement of the parks statute." by John Harris
https://tennesseefirearms.com/2023/02/plaintiffs-ask-court-to-issue-preliminary-injunction-to-prohibit-the-state-from-enforcement-of-the-parks-statute/
Primary source documents included in article.
Using the courts to overturn unconstitutional laws.
"State of Texas and GOA sue BATF over “pistol brace” rule –
where is the State of Tennessee – UPDATED"
by John Harris
https://tennesseefirearms.com/2023/03/state-of-texas-and-goa-sue-batf-over-pistol-brace-rule-where-is-the-state-of-tennessee/
"Bump stocks back on store shelves in three states" by Cam Edwards
https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2023/03/04/bump-stocks-back-on-store-shelves-in-three-states-n68044
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
Louisiana, Mississippi or Texas – the three states that comprise the Fifth Circuit.
Excerpt:
The court went on to say, however, that even if the issue wasn’t as
cut-and-dried [Bump stocks don't fit the definition of machinegun. -- Jon Low]
they still would have sided with Cargill in his challenge because of the rule of lenity.
“A rich legal tradition supports the “well known rule” that
“penal laws are to be construed strictly.”
United States v. Wiltberger, 18 U.S. (5 Wheat.) 76, 94–95 (1820).
As Chief Justice Marshall explained long ago, the rule
"is founded on the tenderness of the law for the rights of individuals;
and on the plain principle that the power of punishment is vested
in the legislative, not in the judicial department. It is the legislature,
not the Court, which is to define a crime, and ordain its punishment." . . .
"Federal Judge Grants Injunction Blocking Enforcement of ATF’s
‘Frame or Receiver’ Rule" by Dan Zimmerman
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/federal-judge-grants-injunction-blocking-enforcement-of-atfs-frame-or-receiver-rule/
Excerpt:
The injunction takes effect immediately.
"Tennessee bills would change gun permit laws, allow campus carry"
by Jon Styf
https://www.thecentersquare.com/tennessee/article_8acdfc2e-b2d5-11ed-b73c-73ab95fd7d20.html
Of interest to me because I live in Tennessee.
“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 a dishonorable population
represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
***** ***** ***** 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
Avoid foul language. You want your students to feel comfortable bringing their
daughters and granddaughters to your classes. Remember, the little girls need
your classes far more than your present student does.
Technique that I learned in the Marine Corps for safely inducing stress and
disorientation before a skill exercise --
Place one end of a baseball bat on the ground. Place the student's forehead on
the other end of the bat. Keeping the bat in contact with the ground and the
forehead, move around the bat 10 times as quickly as possible (it's a race). Someone
else will have to count out the rotations, because the student won't be able to after
the third rotation or so. Many won't be able to stand afterwards. Some students
get so dizzy they vomit. So best to do it outdoors with a water hose available.
It would also be nice to have a Corpsman on hand. Some have fallen down midway
through the skill exercise. So you must have at least one assistant instructor on
the student to ensure he doesn't fire in an unsafe direction.
A trick that sometimes works for some people is to do a somersault on the
ground after spinning around the baseball bat.
"9 Strategies to Increase Employee Retention" by Dale Carnegie (the company,
not the person)
https://www.dalecarnegie.com/blog/9-strategies-to-increase-employee-retention/
"Humble Leaders" by Matt Norman and Mark Marone
https://www.dalecarnegie.com/en/resources/humble-leaders-what-defines-them-and-how-they-unlock-a-high-performance-culture
Excerpt:
"Research suggests that humility in leadership not only drives others to higher
levels of performance, it also contributes to lower turnover, lower absenteeism,
higher quality, and stronger teamwork. When people feel “bigger,” they
accomplish more and do better work. When they feel “smaller,” they shrink from
challenges and lower their aspirations. Humble leaders, just like my first boss,
make people feel bigger."
As C.S. Lewis said,
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”
Dale Carnegie pointed the way toward this dimension of humble leadership
when he wrote, in "How to Win Friends and Influence People", that leaders
should “become genuinely interested in other people” and “talk in terms of
the other person’s interests.”
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
----- Andragogy -----
An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.
-- "Building Shooters" by Dustin Salomon
"The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives."
-- Robert John Meehan
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Gear ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
“What you don’t have is always important!”
-- Botha
"Short Supply!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/short-supply/
"How to Disassemble a Glock Magazine" by McKenzie Hanson
https://www.targetbarn.com/broad-side/how-to-disassemble-a-glock-magazine/
Using Hanson's technique, there is a good chance that you will bend (deform) the
spring. Better would be to take a thin screwdriver and pry the floor plate off the
sides of the bottom of the tube.
Once you get the floor plate off, take a box cutter or single edge razor and cut off
those tabs. Then you can slide the floor plate off and on easily. And then you won't
have to deal with this silliness anymore.
Another improvement to the Glock pistol would be to take a Dremel tool and
grind away the bottom 90 degree edge of the trigger guard by the grip, just enough
to prevent Glock knuckle (as Aq calls it). After shooting my Glock for three days
for my job, I got a nasty callous on the knuckle of the big joint of my firing hand
middle finger. Trust me, you don't want this. And it's an easy fix.
It's also known, in the industry, as under cutting the trigger guard.
---
My modifications to the typical Glock pistol for my students and clients -
Grind off the protrusions on the front strap that separate the fingers. Because
nobody's fingers match those protrusions.
Grind out some space at the top of the tang to avoid irritation and blisters when
used by students who have arthritis or protruding sesamoid bones.
Undercut the trigger guard by the grip to avoid Glock knuckle (a blister and callous
on the big joint of the middle finger).
Shave off some of the plastic on the sides of the magazines. They are just too tight.
I think you ought to be able to eject the magazine by twisting your forearm in a snappy
motion, roll the pistol (as opposed to pitch or yaw), using centripetal acceleration to
force the magazine out. Of course, if it dropped free with gravity that would be better.
Machine out the rear sight by 2 hundredths of an inch to allow proper sight
alignment, especially in low light conditions. They are the steel tritium glow in the
dark Glock sights, not the cheap plastic sights. If the barrel is short, you may have
to machine out 3.5 to 4 hundredths of an inch.
The maritime modification, which means the cups around the striker have been
cut to allow water to drain out in the event of the pistol being submerged. Otherwise,
you get a hydraulic action retarding the striker. Which could cause a light striker
hit on the primer.
Machine serrations in the sides of the slide to allow purchase to perform a
chamber check. Ya, I know some instructors teach against the practice of doing
a chamber check at all. And some teach against performing a chamber check by
reaching under the pistol and grabbing the sides of the slide with the pads of the
fingers. And of course if you have a weapon attached light under your barrel,
you might not be able to do such a chamber check. But, I teach against weapon
mounted lights. And I like doing a chamber check this way. Ya, I know it gets
your fingers too close to the muzzle. [I'm conflicted. I have psychological
tension. I suffer from institutional inertia.]
Polish all trigger mechanism bearing surfaces.
The sear in the frame that holds the striker back is smoothed and rounded.
They come from the factory as a sheet metal stamping and so are rather rough
and mis-shapen.
At this past weekend's Church Security Fundamentals class, given by Randy
Harris of
"Harris Combatives"
http://harriscombative.com/
I found out that my Springfield Armory XD is impacting 8 inches left of point
of aim at 20 yards. I didn't know this because I had never shot that pistol at that
distance or longer. (Up close, it was zeroed good enough for government work.)
During the class, we shot out to 40 yards. An eye opening experience.
Mr. Bill Newman, the range owner, was kind enough to lend me his sight pusher
to adjust the rear sight. I broke the sight pusher. Snapped the part that pushes
the sight clean off. Yes, I paid for a replacement.
When I got home my friend, Aidan, was able to move the rear sight.
The calculation is as follows:
Point of impact is 8 inches left of point of aim at 20 yards.
20 yards is, 20 yards X 3 feet / yard X 12 inches / foot = 720 inches.
The sight radius is 7 inches. So, 720 / 7 = 8 / Adjustment. Thus,
56 = 720 X Adjustment. Hence, Adjustment = 56 / 720 = 0.0777. . . inches right.
I'm pretty sure Aidan had to use a punch to move the rear sight. (I see the tool
marks.)
If you're used to playing with rifles, the movement of the rear sight by that
much may shock you. It did me. The thing is, at close ranges, you have to move
the sights a lot to move the point of impact. "A lot" is relative.
---
During the class, I had 3 failure to feed malfunctions. It was because
I had cleaned all of my magazines the night before, and when assembling one
magazine, had put the follower in backwards. One can never be too careful.
I didn't notice during assembly. I didn't notice when charging the magazine.
"Custom Guns Will Hurt You In Court ? - NONSENSE!" by Gabe Suarez
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfaO44HVpEo
"The Best Pistol Red Dots of 2023, Tested and Reviewed"
by Tyler Freel and John B. Snow
https://www.outdoorlife.com/gear/best-pistol-red-dots/
---
A red dot sight allows you to aim with both eyes open and focused on the target.
If the non-aiming eye can see the dot in the sight window, it will be on point of
impact, even if not centered in the sight window. If the non-aiming eye cannot see
the dot, that's okay too. It all depends on the size of the window, the distance
between your eyes, the length of your arms, and such.
"12 Best Pistol Red Dot Sights [Real-Views + Video]" by Eric Hung
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-pistol-red-dot-sights/
I'm waiting for the prices to come down. I resist being an early adopter of
any technology.
"Hey, Staff, all of the Marine Corps rifles have red dot sights on them.
The recently discharged Marines have never shot with iron sights."
Ya, I know.
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
*************************************************************************
***** ***** Religion, Politics, History, War Stories, et al ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
Rest In Peace Beverly Clark.
Rest In Peace Allston Kitchens.
Rest In Peace David Liebtag (APL2 developer at IBM).
I wasn't crystal clear in my last post. The Nashville, TN District Attorney,
Glenn Funk, was prosecuting righteous cops (because they were Caucasian) and
neglecting to prosecute violent criminals (because they were Negro or members
of Black Lives Matter). [And so got the endorsement and support of Black
Lives Matter et al. And so won the recent election.] So many of us asked
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, to remove Glenn Funk. As Florida Governor,
Ron Desantis, had removed such District Attorneys in Florida. But Bill Lee has
aspirations, and so having learned from the experiences of others, Pilot (the
Roman Governor), didn't want to get his hands dirty, much less have to wash them.
So he used the Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to opened a
criminal investigation on Funk for illegal wire tap. But the AG needed cover
and so waited for Channel 5 News to publish a story and then claimed that he
was forced to investigate because of Channel 5's investigative journalist.
"Tennessee attorney general opens criminal investigation of
Nashville DA Glenn Funk's office, letter shows" by Phil Williams
https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/the-das-deals/tennessee-attorney-general-opens-criminal-investigation-of-nashville-da-glenn-funks-office-letter-shows
Notice the author of the report, Williams, gave Skrmetti the cover he needed.
It all started when several defense attorneys got suspicious when the prosecutors
seemed to know things that they should not have known. When you're corrupt,
a little more corruption goes unnoticed. And Funk is very corrupt. Notice Funk
did not deny the allegations. Nor did he try to explain them away. Because he
believes he is above the law. After all, he's the duly elected prosecutor.
It's fun to watch politics. See how they destroy each other, sometimes kill each
other. Oh, did you notice the Clinton advisor who committed suicide by shooting
and hanging himself? He even hid the gun. The cops never found it. Now that's
a suicide. No, really, it was classified a suicide.
"Project: Preparing for Devolution of Emergency Services"
by Paul T. Martin
https://paultmartin.com/blog/f/project-preparing-for-devolution-of-emergency-services
In case you don't know what going on in Austin, TX; and every other Democrat
controlled city.
The Federal Protective Service (a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security) told us that Nashville, TN is a sanctuary city. The Mayor and Police
Chief have told their police officers not to assist Federal agents with enforcement
of immigration laws. But the politicians (yes, the police chief is a politician) aren't
too bright and cannot distinguish between immigration law and general violent crime.
So, FPS told us not to expect the cops to show up when we call 911 for assistance.
No, really, Nashville Police just don't show up.
My beloved Marine Corps being destroyed by its own generals.
"Snipers!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/snipers-2/
"Sheriff’s office releases new details,
IDs 2 killed in Morrow County gas station shooting"
by 10TV Web Staff
https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/2-killed-shooting-morrow-county-gas-station/530-607b1fda-bc95-4849-ab13-151eea857ea4
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
"As the musical theme from Candid Camera said,
“when you least expect it, you're selected.” "
-- Stephen P. Wenger
"How just half of all America's murders get solved as homicide
clearance rates slump to their lowest level in four decades from
71% in 1980 to around 50% in 2020" by Ffion Haf
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11798717/Just-half-Americas-murders-solved-homicide-clearance-rates-lowest-four-decades.html
Hat tip to John Hearne, Two Pillars Training,
https://www.facebook.com/TwoPillarsTraining
"The worm that destroys is the temptation to seek approval from your critics."
-- Sun Tzu
"The worm that destroys!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/the-worm-that-destroys-2/
"UNCENSORED: Video Footage Proves January 6th Was a Lie | Ep. 288"
by Liz Wheeler
https://rumble.com/v2c2tdm-uncensored-video-footage-proves-january-6th-was-a-lie-ep.-288.html?mref=hsiwx&mc=bb5c8
Excerpt:
Video footage proves January 6th was a lie.
Every single element of what we've been told January 6th, 2021 was—an
insurrection, a violent riot, an effort to subvert our constitutional republic—is a lie.
Now we have proof. Tucker Carlson released never-before-seen video footage
from inside and around the Capitol on January 6th that proves we were right all
along.
The mainstream media lied to us. The FBI lied to us. Joe Biden lied to us.
And they used those lies to not only attack Donald Trump, but to attack people
who support Trump and paint conservatives as evil, violent insurrectionists.
From classes at work --
Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times the potency of morphine. Carfentanyl has 10,000 times
the potency of morphine. They may be ingested, inhaled, absorbed through the
skin or eye.
Source - Department of Homeland Security, Federal
Protective Service, Protective Intelligence & Investigation Division.
As I move up the hierarchy of the private sector security industry, the jobs
pay more, become easier / safer (not having to fight drunks, addicts, and psychos
every night, the job qualifications get more rigorous / strenuous (pistol
qualifications are more difficult, physical fitness standards are higher, written
and verbal tests are more difficult, etc.)
Some of the guys feel it's less fun because they enjoy fighting the mentally
impaired, sort of like running the bulls in Spain or Mexico. ("Bull fighting" is a
bad English translation. The matador is not fighting the bull.)
"Doing nothing!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/doing-nothing/
Excerpt:
"This week, USMC Sgt Tyler Vargas-Andrews testified before a House
Committee that he and others had multiple opportunities to shoot a suicide
bomber (during our ignominious Afghanistan “withdrawal”) shortly before
that bomber subsequently murdered thirteen other Marines and injured more
than a hundred others.
Vargas-Andrews and other snipers were vehemently denied permission
to shoot this obvious threat, even after repeated requests. Their “superiors”
said they “lacked the authority” to make such a decision (in other words,
they lacked the personal courage to actually make a battlefield call).
"The growing ranks of Black gun owners
The history of gun control is rooted in racism. Given that legacy,
many African American gun buyers say that they are exercising
both a civil and human right." by Jennifer Stefano
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/inq2/black-gun-owners-philadelphia-second-ammendment-20230309.html
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
Check out the expensive guns that these people own.
"Jesse Watters: Democrats aren't happy about this" by Fox News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auqIgIrlhaE
Censorship in the U.S.
Email from the leader of my church security team, Walt Valentine.
WHY GRANDPA CARRIES A GUN . . .
My old Grandpa said to me, "Son, there comes a time in every man's life
when he stops bustin' knuckles and starts bustin' caps and usually it's when
he becomes too old to take a whipping.
I don't carry a gun to kill people; I carry a gun to keep from being killed.
I don't carry a gun because I'm evil; I carry a gun because I have lived long
enough to see the evil in the World.
I don't carry a gun because I hate the government; I carry a gun because
I understand the limitations of government.
I don't carry a gun because I'm angry; I carry a gun so that I don't have
to spend the rest of my life hating myself for failing to be prepared.
I don't carry a gun because I want to shoot someone; I carry a gun because
I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed and not on a sidewalk somewhere
tomorrow afternoon.
I don't carry a gun to make me feel like a man; I carry a gun because men
know how to take care of themselves and the ones they love.
I don't carry a gun because I feel inadequate; I carry a gun because
unarmed and facing three armed thugs, I am inadequate.
I don't carry a gun because I love it; I carry a gun because I love life and
the people who make it meaningful to me.
Police protection is an oxymoron: Free citizens must protect themselves
because police do not protect you from crime; they just investigate the crime
after it happens and then call someone in to clean up the mess.
Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old to take
a whoopin'!
A LITTLE GUN HISTORY . . .
PLEASE DON'T THINK FOR A MOMENT, THAT THIS COULDN'T HAPPEN
IN OUR COUNTRY ALSO!!!
In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control: From 1929 to 1953,
about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up
and exterminated.
In 1911, Turkey established gun control: From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million
Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Germany established gun control in 1938: From 1939 to 1945, a total of
13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were
rounded up and exterminated.
Guatemala established gun control in 1964: From 1964 to 1981,
100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
Uganda established gun control in 1970: From 1971 to 1979,
300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
Cambodia established gun control in 1956: From 1975 to 1977,
one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded
up and exterminated.
56 million defenseless people were rounded up and exterminated in the
20th Century because of gun control.
You won't see this data on the US evening news, or hear politicians
disseminating this information.
Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes,
gun control laws adversely affect only the law abiding citizens.
With guns, we are 'citizens'; without them, we are 'subjects'.
During WW II, the Japanese decided not to invade America because
they knew most Americans were ARMED!
Gun owners in the USA are the largest armed forces in the World!
If you value your freedom, please spread this anti-gun control message
to all of your friends.
The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense.
The sword is more important than the shield and skill is more important than either.
Switzerland issues a gun to every household.
Switzerland's government issues and trains every adult in the use of a rifle.
Switzerland has the lowest gun related crime rate of any civilized country
in the world. It's a no brainer. Don't let our government waste millions of
our tax dollars in an effort to make all law abiding citizens an easy target.
I'm a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment! If you are too, please forward this.
If you're not a believer, please reconsider based on these true facts. This is history;
not what's being shown on TV, sanctioned by our illustrious delusional leaders
in Washington.
-- Walt Valentine
"Your character is what you do when no one is looking."
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe,
and preserve order in the world as well as property.
Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of their use."
-- Thomas Paine
[Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law.
ITAR, International Traffic in Arms Regulations]
Let's keep our definitions straight.
Cryptology:
Encrypting / decrypting is scrambling at the bit level. What is your data
processing method to get your plain text message into bits?
Enciphering / deciphering is scrambling at the letter level of the alphabet.
What about languages that don't have alphabets?
Encoding / decoding is scrambling at the word level. What about languages
that don't have words?
---
Data processing:
Data compression - lossless vs. lossy (JPEG et al, what are we preserving?),
eliminating useless redundancy to improve the efficiency of our cryptosystem.
Error Correcting Coding - adding useful redundancy to allow us to defeat
communication channel noise. [Noise is your friend. Embrace it.]
---
Cryptologic primitives are used in the building of algorithms.
Algorithms are used in the building of protocols.
Protocols are the games (game theoretic games) that we play to ensure some fact.
[For instance, a Zero Knowledge Proof Protocol is not a mathematical proof.
It is a scientific proof. We believe the hypothesis because the probability of the
null hypothesis being true is less than ε, which is arbitrarily small. We drive the
value of ε down by repetitions of our protocol. The value of ε is a function of
our psychological comfort level and engineering constraints (time and space).]
"Unveiling the Future of Antennas and
RF Lenses using Radix™ 3D printable material!"
by Machining and Microwaves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YMRfw0uWlw
They are not using the word "isotropic" the same way we physicists use the word.
Dk is the relative dielectric constant.
Df is the dissipation factor.
"Why can't we figure out what they are saying?"
Hours, minutes, seconds.
Degrees, minutes, seconds.
Except when reading GPS, degrees, minutes, decimal minutes. (What is your
target country using?)
Radians (2π), Gradians (400), Milradian (Mils, 2000π), Degrees (360), and
many others.
Degrees Celsius. How is this defined?
Degrees Centigrade.
Degrees Fahrenheit. How is this defined?
Kelvin (not degrees Kelvin). How is this defined?
. . .
Yes, they are using a different coordinate system. And they are also using a
different system of units.
One would think there would be a simple proportionality constant between
units. But, you have to check the definition of the units. Remember weights
are defined by masses in gravitational fields. You might not be in the gravitational
field near the Earth's surface.
One would think there would be a simple matrix multiplication transformation
between coordinates. But it's not a linear transformation. Connection coefficients
or Christoffel symbols.
Yes, temperature matters. You're operating in the real world, not in pure math.
That's why you have to use error correcting coding, ECC. When the temperature
(as in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, not weather) gets too high the
noise in the channel will get too high. Ya, you can recover the signal, but it might
not be practical to do so. Add the useful redundancy of ECC, and it's practical.
(We are in the real world. So, I'm not using words like tractable and intractable
in the technical mathematical sense. Because only computer scientists care about
that.)
Let ↑ mean exponentiation. Let ≡ mean definition. Let |X| mean the scalar
magnitude of X in a reasonable norm.
Consider f(X, Y) = X ↑ Y. [Note that ↑ is not commutative.]
How to invert f(X, Y)?
We could hold X fixed and solve for Y. That would be the logarithm to the
base X of f(X, Y), which would equal Y.
We could hold Y fixed and solve for X. That would be the Yth root of f(X, Y),
which would be X.
We could . . . (but let's not go off on tangents) . . .
"Our inversion functions are not defined for negative inputs."
That is only true if we restrict our universe to the Real number system.
We do not. Remember we are operating in the real world, not in the Platonic
Realm of Forms. Logarithms, roots, and such are well defined in the Complex
number system, Quaternion number system, Caley number system, and higher.
Let's consider using logs to reduce a continuous scalar the way modulus
arithmetic reduces discrete scalars.
In the Integer number system -
Residue = y modulo(x) ≡ y mod(x) ≡ the remainder of y upon division by x,
discarding the quotient. Where Residue is between 0 and x-1.
In a continuous complete number system -
Result = Jun(X) ≡ if 0 < |X| ≤ 1, then Result = X; else
if 0 < | ln(X) | ≤ 1, then Result = ln(X); else
if 0 < | ln( ln(X) ) | ≤ 1, then Result = ln( ln(X) ); else
if 0 < | ln( ln( ln(X) ) ) | ≤ 1, then Result = ln( ln( ln(X) ) ); else
. . .
Ya, we could get into trouble. The algorithm might not terminate. But, a lot
of the information from the original is in the Result. More than say a
cryptologically secure hash function.
"Oh, so that's what they are doing."
Are they negating with 1's complement? 2's complement? or something else?
Yes, there are other ways to negate.
Big endien? Little endien? or something else?
Yes, there are other formats. [byte order?]
Is the MSB (most significant bit) on the left or right? [bit order]
Beginning or end of the word / string?
Maybe they're using a different format. Maybe they're using a different protocol.
This is all about data processing, not cryptology. Write a program and let the
computer grind it out. Monkey work is for computers. Work that computers
can't do is human work.
I received orders to ". . . change passwords regularly . . .".
That is cryptologically wrong. Good passwords never go stale.
Bad passwords are not mitigated by replacement.
Forcing users to change passwords regularly causes the users
to record the password somewhere, because they can't remember it.
Which defeats the security of passwords.
Whoever wrote this directive has no understanding of cyber security
and should be fired.
The enemy knows of this stupid policy and will launch man-in-the-middle
attacks.
Кристина Грунюшкина, Christina Grunjuskina, wishes you pleasant dreams.
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
“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.)
"Taliban comb Kabul records to hunt down U.S. war allies
Inspector general examines failures of military mission"
by Stephen Dinan
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/feb/27/taliban-using-fingerprints-gun-records-track-down-/
"I can't help thinking of how American Progressives used vaccine mandates
to initiate the purge of conservatives from the ranks of our military and law
enforcement."
-- Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
[Let us remember that during the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden
State Department gave lists of names and identifying information to the Taliban
of those who had helped the U.S. over the past 20 years. -- Jon Low]
Russian Army, 504th Tank Regiment sent to Omsk, Russia for training. (Well,
that doesn't make sense.) After training, none of the drivers were competent to
drive a tank. Soldiers complained that they had completely lost contact with their
commanders. Unit sent to Donbas, Russia. Could not find their commander.
Some Commander in Donbas, Russia told them that their unit was disbanded and
that they were to join the Army of the Donbas People's Republic. The unit was
sent to a rifle range for training, but the range officers asked the soldiers for money
for the ammunition, which indicated that the range officers did not recognize the
unit as Russian soldiers.
Similar reports from Wagner Group. Begging Moscow for ammunition. But,
not getting any. At least they know who their commanders are. I think.
Maybe they can't find their commanders because they have been murdered.
"Tucker: This is crazy"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoVMi2_AoiU
Do you see how this works?
"Tucker: This will make you shiver"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWRWc4jxR5Y
Do you see how this works?
"Tucker's warning if Ukraine war continues"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7I5mrWipls
Do you see how this works?
A gentleman familiar with German and Ukrainian affairs spoke to us at the
Tennessee Firearms Association meeting in Clarksville, TN last night. He told
us that the German Chancellor had promised tanks to the Ukrainians. When
the tanks were not delivered, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense inquired. A
German Lt. General (who is apparently in command of the German Army,
which indicates that the German army is no more than a Corps) told the Ukrainian
MoD that only 30% of Germany's tanks are operational, so they can't spare any,
so they won't be shipping any.
Politicians promise (and get the publicity). Soldiers deliver, if they can.
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
*************************************************************************
"You can’t truly call yourself 'peaceful' unless you are capable of great violence.
If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless.
Important distinction." -- Stef Starkgaryen
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
