The KR Training December 2011 Newsletter is posted.
It contains some great gift suggestions for the gunnie in your life.
Plus, with New Years around the corner, folks start to think about what they are going to do in the next year, be it resolutions or goals or what have you. The start of the 2012 schedule is available, so you can start planning your training. Be sure to sign up early as classes do fill up quickly these days.
It’s almost impossible to overestimate the unimportance of most things.
-Logue
More from Maku mozo!
Want to know about situational awareness?
Set an awesome, but strangely anti-climatic, personal record.
“Week 3”
Today’s PR was a significant one because I broke into the realm of 45# plates on my press. 🙂
But oddly, it was anti-climactic. Of course, I knew for weeks this PR day was coming and I knew I’d set a PR because that’s just how the program progresses. I was really looking forward to it for the fact I’d be using 45’s and while I don’t lift for ego, there’s no question the ego gets satisfied with things like that. Once you start moving 45’s, you start to feel like you’re moving real weight. So I’ve been looking forward to today for weeks. Even last night before I went to bed I was giddy with excitement. When I loaded the plates onto the bar it felt cool. I was smiling a lot. When I pulled the bar out of the rack, it felt a little different because there’s a change in how the weight feels with the larger plates (center of gravity and such), but really not a whole lot. And I just pressed like anything else. When I was done and racked the bar, I thought I might feel some elation and excitement, but it just felt like any old press set.
In a way, I was bummed… but then, I don’t know what I was expecting to feel because it’s just weight. But in a way, I thought it was kinda cool I didn’t feel anything special about it because it’s just weight. The body and muscles don’t care that it’s 45# plates, only my mind and ego.
So still, very cool. I’m happy to have cranked out 5 reps with it. And now, life goes on… next up, 140#. And so on, and so on.
One thing on a form factor, I continue to work with my breathing so I don’t get all light-headed. I am finding that just breathing regularly up to the bar, tighten up and hold breath and unrack, if I feel the need then exhale while I get into position but keep tight, take as many breaths as I need before I start doing the movement to get my head clear and solid (tho not too long, of course), and then get going. On Press it’s slightly different since I want to breathe at the top of the movement so, I breath, press the first rep up, then breath again and THERE I start my rhythm… so it’s a bit of an “off beat” but alright.
Everything else rolled OK. I am thinking that sooner or later I’m going to stop doing lat pulldowns and try going back to chin-ups. Not sure I’m ready for it yet, but I have thought about buying a band to help me if I can’t yet crank out enough reps. The goal is of course to do proper chins, and so who knows… maybe if I’m not there yet I shouldn’t just crank 5×10 across on my lat pulldowns but try to move it more to a 5×5 across to get the strength up. We’ll see.
To be a warrior is to learn to be genuine in every moment of your life.
 – Chogyam Trungpa
I remember when the “Fast & Furious” scandal broke, some were claiming the whole thing was being done to manufacture a case for more gun control laws. The response from many was such thinking was ludicrous — our government wouldn’t do that.
Riiiiiiiiiiigt.
There’s no need for the tin-foil hat, because it’s true, as CBS News reports.
Even if you’re the most stringent anti-gunner, I hope you can see the corruption and will refuse to tolerate it. This isn’t about guns; it’s way beyond that.
Saw this posted on TacticalGunReview‘s Facebook page:
We are giving away a Leupold Tactical Patrol 3-9×40 illuminated TMR reticle scope! Post your review on TacticalGunReview.com for your chance to win this incredible prize!!
Given my experience with the Leupold VX-R 3-9×50 on my hunting rifle? I’d say this is a great prize.
Go write reviews and enter!
AAC has a nice little video demonstrating the benefits of suppressors (silencers):
See? It makes things quiet.
This is A Good Thing™.
For those of you that aren’t into guns, here’s some perspective.
Remember the last time some guy on a LOUD Harley passed you on the road? About rattled your fillings loose, didn’t it? You know why it’s that loud? Because he didn’t have a muffler on his exhaust. You likely take it for granted that almost every vehicle on the road has a muffler on their exhaust, else we’d all be blaring down the road making such a racket. Think about all that noise, and the silence a muffler brings.
A silencer is merely a muffler for a gun.
If we think mufflers are good things for cars, why are mufflers for guns a bad thing? Sure some people like loud things, but on the whole humans tend to not like loud — we’re not built for it, else loud noises wouldn’t cause hearing damage.
Yes, Hollywood has made us think that silencers are tools of assassins and make guns silent… or that they all make that one “thwip” sound (see Coconut Effect). Hardly the case, as the video demonstrates.
Some say it’s important to deny suppressors because poachers will use them. Well, it’s not like a bow and arrow make tons of noise. Furthermore, many countries around the world consider it bad form to hunt WITHOUT a suppressor because it’s rude to make so much noise.
So someone please explain to me why silencers are illegal in some parts of the US and highly regulated everywhere else? What is gained, other than keeping a lot of bureaucrats in a job processing tons of paperwork?
Yes, I’ve thought about getting a suppressor for a while now. Trouble has been what to get, not brand, but caliber. I think I’m settling on a .30 cal suppressor, and then looking at a rifle (perhaps SBR, as long as I have to deal with paperwork) in something like .300 AAC Blackout. Why? Because I can. Use? Probably hog hunting, and perhaps even exotics (e.g. fallow, sika, axis, red, blackbuck, etc.) since my reading of the TX P&W game rules is that you can’t use suppressors on game animals and exotics aren’t game animals, they’re exotics. Save my hearing while out in the field, a good thing.
I need your input (read on).
It’s finally getting cold in Central Texas.
Some consider a change in the weather a time to change what gun you carry. For instance, in the summer they’ll carry a J-frame, in the winter a 1911. The general reason given is amount of clothing: summer, less clothing, harder to conceal bigger guns; winter, more clothing, easier to conceal bigger guns. Well… it gets wicked hot here, I don’t wear parkas in the summer, yet I still conceal a full-sized gun. But, everyone’s body and needs are different, so YMMV.
Me? I’d rather change my clothing than my gun — I don’t need to build proficiency with clothing. Nevertheless, come colder days, I need to wear more clothing. More clothing worn means more clothing to have to get through should I need to draw my gun. It hit me a couple weeks ago while getting ready for church, one of the first times having to don long/warm dress clothing. Because of my weightlifting, I’m building more muscle mass, clothing isn’t fitting me the same, wardrobe options are reduced until I can go shopping. I was reduced to wearing my gun inside the waistband (typical) but I then had to tuck in my shirt. I have come to not like tucking-in my shirt because it makes the gun harder to get to, because it’s harder to get the clothing out of the way. I also filled out the shirt more, which pushed me to print a bit more, so I wore a jacket. Even more clothing to have to get through. *sigh*
But… I thought… Jackets. Sport Coat. Blazer. Hrm. Why not do that in the winter? I could wear OWB with a jacket over it. Concealed, warm, accessible. A bit of a fashion change for me, but Wife thought I’d look handsome and well… there’s the clincher. 🙂
So, I’m going to do some experimenting with OWB, jackets, and wearing the gun slightly differently. While yes it’s eyed towards winter situations, I will keep in mind summer options. Who knows, maybe I’ll go OWB in summer too.
Note: the only time I wear OWB is at the range, and there options and issues are different. But even in that case, it’s often that I’m wearing my IWB holster and merely tuck in my shirt behind the gun. So I have little “on the street” experience with OWB carry.
Thus, I start to get back to the same old “first time carry” fears of being exposed, freaking someone out because they see the gun, and so on. The main concern? The muzzle. I’d like to find a holster with a good high ride.
Tom Hogel (friend, fellow KR Training Instructor) showed me C. Rusty Sherrick’s “US High Ride” holster; he has one for his J-frame. It’s a very high ride, putting the muzzle flush with the bottom edge of the belt. I really like that in terms of improved concealablity. When I tried it with a J-frame it felt alright, but I’m not sure with a slab-side double-stack semi-auto if that may stick things too high in my ribs and be annoying all day long. I’ll probably just have to order one and see.
Tom was also kind enough to lend me his Raven holster to try for a while. I’ve been wearing it for almost a week now and have some first impressions. First, it’s a HUGE slab of Kydex. I think that bodes well in many respects for the holster, but it doesn’t negate the fact it’s a HUGE slab of Kydex. It gets in the way of both my front and rear pants pockets, which I do keep things in and need to have access to on occasion. Wearing the holster slightly forward with the leading edge of the holster truly just behind my hip bone, it makes for an excellent draw position, but the “muzzle area” of the holster really digs into my leg and becomes quite uncomfortable. If I then move the holster back some so it’s comfortable to wear, there’s no way it conceals my gun — the butt sticks out like well, a big butt. 🙂  Interestingly, Tom says he has this issue too with the XDm but not with his M&P. I do like how close the Raven wears to the body, not as close and tight as an IWB holster, but pretty good. I’m going to keep wearing the Raven for a little while longer to see how it goes, but so far my impressions are this is a great holster but it’s not going to work for me.
Some time ago I had purchaed a Comp-Tac Settable Cant Holster. I bought it for gaming, and there it must remain. I had the paddle attachment on it for ease of suiting up at the range, and I already knew that held the gun well away from the body, such that concealing was not an option. But I tried switching to the belt attachment to see how it would fare. It holds closer to the body, but nowhere near close enough for concealment, certainly not as close as the Raven does. So, this holster will go back to the paddle attachment and continue to be a range/gaming holster. I do wonder about Comp-Tac’s Belt Holster since the pictures look like it holds tighter AND by saying it’s IDPA legal I reckon it probably conceals better than the Settable Cant Holster.
Karl suggested the Blade-Tech Eclipse, and that’s a lot less Kydex, but it appears to hang just as low as the MTAC. Not sure that’s what I want.
Hrm. I wonder if Tucker Gunleather’s “First Strike Kydex” will work.
I’ve also looked at High Noon Holster’s and they look like they might provide a high enough ride, but I think the pictures appear that way because they’re using short-barrelled guns. Still, I might pick up one of their “cheap line” versions (e.g. Skin Guard) to see if it works out and truly if it does work out, I’d get the holster again in their custom line (e.g. “Slide Guard”).
Then there’s Kramer Handgun Leather, which the Insights guys are high on. I’ve even had thoughts about changing my IWB holster because while the MTAC is alright, it’s a big slab of leather (I seem to have a thing against large slabs, eh?) and I’ve wondered if something like Kramer’s #2 or #3 IWB might serve me better.
I must admit….
After my initial digging around and trials, I’m getting a little discouraged, but I may just have unrealistic expectations.
Do you have any suggestions of holster makers? I know there are a lot out there, but it’s often hard to find little shops without someone pointing you to them.
Lanya Olmstead was born in Florida to a mother who immigrated from Taiwan and an American father of Norwegian ancestry. Ethnically, she considers herself half Taiwanese and half Norwegian. But when applying to Harvard, Olmstead checked only one box for her race: white.
“I didn’t want to put ‘Asian’ down,” Olmstead says, “because my mom told me there’s discrimination against Asians in the application process.”
My mother is Korean. My father is American, with his father of German and his mother of Scots-Irish descent. So, I’m some sort of half-breed mutt. People see my name, John Daub, and how “white” can you get? They hear my voice over the phone and I sound “white”. But then they see me and my physical looks contrast against those other indicators, and it’s always amusing to me to watch people have that moment of cognitive dissonance while they try to figure me out.
I’m not offended by it because I understand we’re human and we are who and what we are. I understand the contrasts, I also understand that humans like to categorize. I understand that I present contrasts and things that don’t add up. Really, I don’t get bothered by the race issue and openly joke about it because life’s too short to get caught up in it. Of course, if someone is being hurtful well, that’s different… that’s just being hurtful or being an asshole, and I don’t care for that regardless of the context, being presented based upon my race, ethnicity, or my choice in clothing.
But just like these people don’t want to check “Asian” on their forms, I joke with people who I will check whatever box you want to help you fill your quota: I can be white, I can be Asian, whatever helps you satisfy your agenda.
I also recognize that’s the problem (and it’s part of why I joke about it, in hopes of opening dialogue).
See, a lot of people don’t view the problems presented in this article as a real problem. It’s not viewed as racist because a stereotype of “being smart” doesn’t seem like a negative thing. But, as you can read in the article, it is. It causes problems. And ultimately the problem is because of forced diversity. The schools aren’t choosing the best students, they are choosing based upon a whole slew of criteria — race/ethnicity being one of them. So maybe this person isn’t as good of a student, but because they need to have people will all sorts of skin tones walking around, they’ll choose someone based upon their skin tone over someone who may not have the right skin tone but is a better student.
Is that right?
I thought we weren’t supposed to care about the color of someone’s skin? If so, then why are we?
If we’re not supposed to care about the color of someone’s skin, then we need to stop caring about the color of someone’s skin… period. Else, you’ll always have “discrimination”-based problems. And we’ll continue to be divided and have animosity.
Stuff From Hsoi 